iscover
Russian defence industry has allegedly created an automatic target-tracking and locking drone designed to independently navigate towards designated targets without human intervention, according to Russian news agency TASS.
A Moscow-based defence company has reportedly developed the autonomous system to make an electronic warfare-invulnerable drone, which relies on visual contracts of objects, such as a silhouette of a vehicle or building.
Manufacturing of drones enhanced with the new technology reportedly began earlier this year. Early prototypes were allegedly able to lock onto targets within a 200-metre radius using a camera that tracked contrasting objects, while newer iterations can lock onto targets from up to one kilometre away.
“In our latest models being used in the ongoing special military operation, we’ve integrated AI-based automatic target-locking systems into traditional radio-controlled drones equipped with analog video feeds,” according to an unnamed defence industry insider, reported by TASS.
“This upgrade allows the drone to autonomously pursue a target once identified by the operator, even if electronic jamming or loss of video occurs.
“After the operator captures a target, such as an armoured vehicle or a specific structure, the drone continues to track and close in on it automatically.
“The system was instrumental in taking Chasiv Yar (in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine) utilising our Boomerang drones equipped with this artificial intelligence targeting capability.
“This efficiency surpasses even that of highly experienced human operators.”
