How Ukraine uses cheap AI-guided drones to deadly effect against Russia

A HUNDRED METRES above a white Lada saloon, the drone locks onto its target: red lights blink to blue. AI takes over and the drone swoops in for its kill. The Lada is spared at the last moment, with the drone just two metres away. The mission is a test conducted in a field outside Kyiv to fine tune the system. But the technology is already being deployed by dozens of Ukrainian units on the front line. “It’s the best feeling to see your drone enter a tiny opening in an enemy trench,” says Denys, an engineer at The Fourth Law, the Ukrainian firm which makes these autonomous drones. “I used to be a pacifist, but Russia’s war has stripped me of that privilege.”