Ukraine Tests AI-Powered Anti-Drone Turret Against Fibre-Optic FPV Drones
Tags AI · Autonomous Systems
Ukraine's Defence Ministry confirmed front-line combat testing of a domestically developed AI turret that autonomously detects, tracks, and engages Russian fibre-optic FPV drones, which are immune to traditional electronic warfare countermeasures. The AI turret autonomously detects, tracks and calculates the flight path of incoming drones; the operator only needs to confirm the strike with a single button press. The system's key advantage is the ability to destroy fibre-optic guided drones, which cannot be defeated by jamming since they use fibre-optic cable for guidance. Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov stated such AI-powered turrets are now being used by more than 10 units in the contact zone. The turret was developed by a company participating in Ukraine's Brave1 defense innovation platform.
Technical significance
Fibre-optic FPV drones represent a new threat category that bypasses the electronic warfare countermeasures that Ukraine has heavily invested in. The AI turret's ability to autonomously detect and track these drones addresses a critical gap in air defense. The deployment across more than 10 units suggests this is past the prototype stage and becoming an operational capability, which could influence how other nations approach counter-drone defense.