Drone warfare in Ukraine: machine vision, interceptors, and Russian AI innovations
Three key stories of the week: May 14 - May 20, 2025.
Both Ukraine and Russia are actively working to develop unmanned systems resistant to EW jamming. While Russia focused on deploying fiber-optic drones, Ukraine has been experimenting with FPV drones equipped with machine vision. Although this technology is still far from being perfect and faces significant implementation challenges, more than 100 companies in Ukraine are currently involved in developing such systems.
Check this newsletter for three additional in-depth stories on Ukraine’s interceptor drones, growing drone component library, and recent Russian unmanned innovations, along with more than ten key updates from the past week in Ukraine’s drone warfare landscape.
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Ukrainian FPV Drones with Machine Vision: Why Haven’t They Proven Themselves on the Battlefield Yet?
In early 2024, the first videos appeared showing Ukrainian FPV drones equipped with machine vision technology, reports Ukrainian media Oboronka affiliated with Ukrainska Pravda. But nearly a year has passed, and we have not seen the widespread use of such drones on the battlefield.
It is supposed to work in the following way: an FPV drone equipped with an algorithm for automatic image recognition “locks on” to a target when the operator selects it. The drone memorizes the target’s outline and navigates by it during flight. It maintains visual contact with the target, tracks its movement, and can continue flying toward it even after completely losing connection with the pilot.
The development and skilled use of effective machine vision technology would render enemy electronic warfare (EW) systems useless during the final few hundred meters to the target—since the command to strike is given outside the EW's range of interference.
One of the Ukrainian drone manufacturers who has been testing machine vision for nearly two years said that the technology is still raw. An anonymous Ukrainian drone operator told Oboronka that while machine vision can be helpful in certain combat situations, it remains weak as a means of countering electronic warfare (EW).
Representatives of the state defense tech cluster Brave1 said that such FPV drones are already used on the front lines and are being procured by the state. However, the technology still has some shortcomings:
▪️ Insufficient camera quality, which prevents the machine vision system from accurately locking onto targets;
▪️ The operator cannot direct the drone to a specific point, such as a vulnerable spot on a tank, which may reduce its effectiveness;
▪️ Challenges in retrofitting existing drones to support new modules.
According to Oleksandr Soloshchenko, Chief Engineer at General Chereshnya, a company that produces FPV drones, machine vision systems are not universal and can only be integrated with specific hardware, for example, certain flight controllers, which are not always readily available.
The challenge may also stem from a lack of standardization—Ukraine has hundreds of drone manufacturers, each using different components.
Brave1 reports that more than 100 companies in Ukraine are currently working on developing drones equipped with machine vision. The manufacturers are primarily focused on improving the camera, which remains one of the weakest points of the auto-targeting system.
In November 2024, it was reported that ten companies in Ukraine were producing such drones, and the first batch of 3,000 FPV drones equipped with machine vision and target guidance technologies had been ordered by the Ukrainian government.
Check out my earlier editions for more information on drones equipped with machine vision: here and here.
Rising Trend: Ukraine’s Interceptor Drones in Action
Last week, we witnessed several impressive developments involving Ukrainian interceptor drones shooting down Russian UAVs.