Ukrainian computer game-style drone system goes viral: How soldiers track, plan strikes

A Ukrainian initiative of a computer game-style drone attacks system has gone “viral” among military units by gamifying drone warfare and is being extended to artillery, exploration, and logistics operations, marking the new development to improve the lethality of drone operations by turning successful strikes into valuable points that can be exchanged for more impactful equipment.

Ukrainian officials said that the drone teams in high competition under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” killed or wounded 18, 000 Russian soldiers in September, and 400 drone units are now involved in the competition, up from 95 in August.

The system, which was inaugurated more than a year ago, has rewarded soldiers who attain strikes with pivotal points that can be exchanged to buy more weapons in an “Amazon-for-war” online store called Brave1, filled with more than 100 distinct drones, autonomous vehicles, and other drone war material.

The new development prompted Ukraine to extend the efficient approach to artillery units by awarding points for ultimate success that can be utilized by new arms.

Conversely, the Ukrainian military is also promoting the use of drones controlled by artificial intelligence that identify targets and control the final moments of a drone’s approach to enhance strike precision.

The Ukrainian drone operators are deployed sometimes as close as 250 meters from the frontline and at other times 3 km away where they sit in hides before computer screens, and rarely with video game controllers.

Achilles is one of the top 10 successful drone regiments and operates in the eastern part of the Kharkiv region and the Donetsk region.

Nonetheless, the new development marks a successful and data-driven initiative to completely transform the technological adoption and effectiveness of drone warfare.