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"This technology constitutes our coming danger," cautions Serhiy Beskrestnov, that has just acquired a newly intercepted enemy unmanned aerial vehicle.

It was far from typical device either, it was revealed. Powered by artificial intelligence, this unmanned aerial vehicle is able to locate and attack objectives autonomously.

The consultant has examined numerous unmanned systems in his capacity as Ukrainian military advisor.

In contrast to other models, it did not transmit or receive any signals, so could not be jammed.

Russian and Ukrainian militaries are testing AI in this war, and for certain tasks are now using it, to assist in target identification, gathering intelligence and clearing mines.

For the Ukrainian army, AI is now indispensable.

"Our armed forces gets over 50,000 footage feeds [from the front line] monthly which are analysed by AI," says Ukraine's defense official.

"This enables them rapidly process huge volumes of information, identify targets and place them on a map."

AI-Empowered Tech as a Critical Tool

AI-empowered tech is regarded as a instrument that improves military strategy, optimize resources and in the end save lives.

But regarding unmanned weapons systems, it is also revolutionizing the battlefield.

The country's soldiers currently employ AI-powered software so that drones fix on a objective and then fly autonomously for the last few hundred metres until the mission is over.

Signal disruption is impossible and shooting down such small flying object is not easy.

Ultimately these systems will likely evolve into completely independent armaments that can find and destroy objectives by themselves.

An operator must do is tap a button on a mobile application, notes Yaroslav Azhnyuk, chief executive of a local developer.

It handles everything else, he says, locating the target, dropping explosives, evaluating the damage and afterwards returning to base.

"It doesn't demand flight experience from the user," he continues.

Defensive Drones and Future Advancements

Defensive drones with such automation could greatly strengthen air defences targeting Russian remote strike aircraft, like the notorious Shaheds.

"An AI-driven autonomous system is superior to a human in numerous aspects," says the executive. "It can be more perceptive. It can see the objective sooner than a human can. It is more agile."

The deputy defence minister indicates such a system is not yet available, but he mentions Ukraine is nearing finishing its development. "They've partially integrated it in some devices," says the deputy defence minister.

It's possible there will be thousands of such systems in place by the end of 2026, claims the developer.

Concerns and Risks of Total Independence

But Ukrainian developers are cautious about fully making use of defence systems that depend solely on AI, with no human involvement. The risk is that AI may fail to differentiate a friendly fighter from a Russian one, since both could be using the same uniform, says an engineer, who asked to remain anonymous.

His company makes remote-operated automatic weapons, that use AI to autonomously identify people and track them. Because of concerns over accidental attacks, he states they don't have an auto-fire option.

"We can enable it, but we need to get more experience and more feedback from the military units to understand when it is safe to employ this capability."

Ethical Concerns and Global Regulations

There are also concerns that AI-driven technologies will violate the rules of war. How will they avoid harming civilians, or distinguish personnel who want to surrender?

According to the official, the final decision in such circumstances must be made by a human, even if AI could make it "simpler to choose". Yet there are no guarantees that nations or militant factions will follow international humanitarian norms.

So neutralizing such technologies is increasingly critical.

How do you halt a "swarm of drones" when jamming or employing jets, tanks or rockets proves useless?

The nation's highly successful "Spider Web" mission, when 100 unmanned aircraft targeted enemy air bases in June, was probably assisted by AI tools.

Many in Ukraine worry that the adversary will copy that tactic, not only on the front line but further afield too.

The country's leader warned the United Nations recently that AI was contributing to "the worst arms race in history."

He urged global rules for the use of AI in weapons, and stated the issue is "just as urgent as stopping the proliferation of atomic arms."