Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia has become a real-time laboratory for autonomous warfare, with drones at the center. In early May, Ukraine reportedly used a naval drone to shoot down a Russian fighter jet—an emblematic moment in what experts now call a full-fledged “drone war.”

Ukrainian forces field nearly 2 million drones, including over 10,000 AI-enabled units, according to a report by CSIS fellow Kateryna Bondar. These range from garage-built consumer quadcopters to advanced strike drones like the HX-2, produced by German startup Helsing.

As Russian jamming and signal interference intensify, artificial intelligence has become vital. AI now enables drones to navigate, identify, and engage targets even when GPS and communication links are severed. Helsing’s Ned Baker explains: “AI takes over core functionalities that no longer require a human in the loop.”

Technologies like computer vision allow drones to detect and attack autonomously, and software updates are rolled out every two weeks—“the iPhone model for war,” says Baker.

Unlike traditional missiles that follow preprogrammed paths, AI drones can “fly, analyze, and respond” in real time. While most systems still require human approval before lethal action, the semi-autonomous threshold is rapidly being crossed.

Cost, complexity, and battlefield error rates remain barriers to full autonomy, but advances are accelerating. Primitive tethered drones and fiber-optic links remain common, a sign that fully autonomous systems are still resource-intensive.