Ukraine AI Shrike drones receive Auterion terminal-guidance system
Ukraine has begun receiving Shrike strike drones with camera-based AI guidance that can keep tracking targets after a radio link is lost.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
Ukraine AI Shrike drones fitted with terminal-guidance technology from U.S. company Auterion began arriving with the Ukrainian military in mid-July, Ars Technica reported. The upgrade matters because it is designed to let a drone continue pursuing a moving target after its radio link is blocked or jammed.
Ukrainian company SkyFall makes the Shrike first-person-view strike drone. Auterion developed the Skynode S hardware and software being added to it, according to Ars Technica and the company.
How do Ukraine AI Shrike drones work?
Auterion Chief Executive Lorenz Meier told Ars Technica that an operator first pilots the drone into a battlefield area, identifies a target from as far as half a mile away and then activates its terminal-guidance mode. The onboard system is then intended to use the drone's main camera to follow and fly into a moving target.
The reported system does not depend on GPS for that final tracking stage. Meier said it can continue after the connection to the operator is lost because terrain, buildings or electronic jamming interrupt the radio signal. Auterion has said its Skynode S combines flight-control functions with a mission computer and a neural-processing unit for AI and computer-vision applications.
The handoff has a clear limit. Meier told Ars that an operator can cancel an attack or select a different target while the radio connection remains available; the report does not say that the operator can intervene after that link has been lost. The account describes autonomous terminal tracking after a human has piloted the drone into position and designated a target.
What is planned, and what does it cost?
SkyFall and Auterion plan to send 50,000 equipped Shrikes to Ukraine in the coming months, Ars reported. The report said the order is covered by a $100 million contract backed by an unnamed European country; Reuters, as cited by Ars, identified Germany as the funder.
Meier put the cost of an AI-equipped Shrike at about $2,000, compared with about $400 for Ukrainian drones relying on manual piloting. He told Ars that the kit replaces the existing flight controller with avionics containing a microprocessor and onboard AI.
Auterion also markets its Nemyx software for coordinated drone operations. Ars reported that the Shrikes could receive a future software update for autonomous swarm use, but said Auterion gave no timetable for deployment in Ukraine. Separately, Ars reported that the company demonstrated a U.S. exercise in which one pilot directed three autonomous strike drones at three targets.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.