Is science fiction or reality? Is Russia using artificial intelligence weapons in Ukraine?

The drone, loaded with explosives, crashed without exploding, crashing its nose into its stomach like a dead fish, twisting its rear propeller and crashing or firing. Initially overthrown by Ukrainian forces. The image of the plane quickly spread on social media, and armament experts have identified it as the “KUB-BLA” model produced by Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov’s drone division “Sala Aero”, colloquially known as the “Comics Drone”. “. It can fly spontaneously to a specific area and then hover around it for up to 30 minutes before exploding itself, like a suicide bomber does.

Killer eagles

The most advanced Comicase suicide planes today belong to the category of weapons known as automatic weapons, and are considered by experts to be the third revolution in the world of war after gunpowder and nuclear weapons. The evolution from landmines to guided missiles was a precursor to true AI-powered autonomy. Today’s smart weapons seek out their targets, decide to engage them, and eliminate them without human intervention. Many countries, such as China and Russia, have used this technology to their advantage, and the war in Ukraine has not escaped the scourge of Russian artificial intelligence.

Smart weapons are a comprehensive description of algorithms that help determine where and when to fire a weapon and are one of the most dangerous areas of modern warfare. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.

Although they differ in some details, all fully intelligent weapons share the same opinion: AI dictates shooting results better than people. By training in thousands of battles, adjusting their parameters to suit a specific conflict, AI can be combined with a conventional weapon, which can then search for enemy fighters and drop grenades or guns at them or kill them without human intervention.

Future wars

According to the World Bank, with $ 62 billion in defense spending by 2020, Russia will be one of the world’s largest defense spending, surpassing only the United States and China. For a long time, all three countries have been testing numerous artificial intelligence units and weapons. In 2017, President Vladimir Putin asked, “Who is the leader? [في الذكاء الاصطناعي] He will become the ruler of the world. “

Like most modern countries with a military nature, Russia has drones. The KUB-BLA drone was developed by the Kalashnikov team, the same company that manufactures Russia’s famous assault rifles.

Russia used its drones in the war before invading Ukraine. Its military is intervening in the Syrian war to defend the Syrian regime, and the Russian Hemim base in the country has Syrian drone operations in addition to radar and surveillance equipment. Moscow has targeted militants using “suicide drones” in places such as Idlib. In particular, its KYB-UAVs destroy themselves when they hit their target. The Russian Defense Ministry initially tested the drones in Syria in late December 2021, and plans to expand their use in 2022.

As for autonomous weapons, Russia has sent unmanned ground vehicles to carry out tasks ranging from disposing of bombs to shooting down planes and of course killing. Autonomous units were part of a series of large-scale tests late last year, as General Oleg Salyukov, commander of the Russian Armed Forces, confirmed that the Uran-9 robotic tank, known as the Killer Robot, would be accepted into service. Ground forces of Russia. 2022 for war and espionage purposes, according to the military. (1)

Russia plans to integrate artificial intelligence into seaplanes to navigate the oceans unmanned. Last November, the Russian Defense Ministry said it would equip naval vessels with “suicide drones” to attack ground targets and enemy ships, and to assist special forces in performing “indirect missions.” In the air, Russia is said to be developing AI-guided missiles that can decide to shift targets in mid-flight at least from early 2017, (1) to simulate the advanced technology of the popular US Raytheon Block IV Tomahawk cruise missile.

Although Moscow appears to be ready to use controversial weapons such as cluster munitions in Ukraine, experts are concerned that autonomous weapons are not far behind. (Russia – and the United States and Ukraine – have not signed the 2008 cluster bomb agreement, which has been ratified by more than 100 countries.)

Russia’s smart weapons equipment

This is not just a theoretical concern, a dangerous drone called the “KUB-BLA”, the “launcher ammunition” we talked about at the beginning of the article, has already been discovered with 1.2 meters of wings, and it is navigable. At a distance of 130 kilometers per hour for 30 minutes, it deliberately hit the target and released an explosive weighing 3 kilograms. The company “Zala Aero”, which first demonstrated “KUB-BLA” at the Russian Air Show in 2019, claims that its advertising products are characterized by “intelligent detection and recognition of products based on type and type in real time”.

Images of “KUB-BLA” have not been verified by official sources, but it is known that the drones are a relatively new part of the Russian military arsenal. Samuel Benedett (2), an expert on Russian military affairs at the CNA Defense Research Center, says that its application may be in line with Russia’s military transformation strategy in the face of Ukrainian opposition.

Decomposition of another KUB-BLA wandering ammunition used by the Russian SSO. Evidence suggests he was shot with small arms, but it is difficult to know.https://t.co/gtL2EgKT4m pic.twitter.com/XV31UQBWRO

– Rob Lee (RALEe85) April 19, 2022

Will Russia unleash an AI-powered drone with advanced autonomy in such a chaotic environment? Given how poorly integrated the country’s overall aviation strategy is, the Russian military is now rigorously testing its capabilities in Ukraine. If ground forces with all the complex information can’t really understand what’s going on on the ground, how about a drone?

Many military experts question the alleged capabilities of the “KUB-BLA”. But despite these doubts, the issue of artificial intelligence in armed organizations has recently become controversial because technology is rapidly entering many military systems. It says the U.S. military must make decisions that kill real people, but the United States opposes a ban on creating such organizations. (3)

Another 🇷🇺ZALA KYB crashed in Kiev on March 22nd pic.twitter.com/gIryf2pXWk

– Abraxas Spa (bAbraxasSpa) March 23, 2022

If both sides accidentally had smart weapons, it would lead to a science fiction scene where two robots destroy each other. No one can say whether this will alienate the conflict from the public or push them closer. Last year, a group of 10 countries, including several South American countries, sought to renew the agreement to include a complete ban on artificial intelligence, but the agreement to modernize the conventional arms trade agreement stumbled.

Well, the drone will not do much to change the course of the war in Ukraine because there is no evidence that Russia is still using it on a large scale, but its appearance raises concerns about the possibility that artificial intelligence could play a major role. In making deadly decisions in the future.

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proof’s

1. Russia builds an army of robotic weapons, aided by China’s AI technology
2. Russia’s killer drone war in Ukraine raises fears about AI
3. The future of the war may be far more brutal than in Ukraine