Ukrainian companies to produce thousands of autopiloted drones that can resist electronic warfare – WSJ
Ukrainian startup Vyriy Drone will produce several thousand drones with an automatic guidance function that will be activated when attacked. This will help drone pilots circumvent electronic warfare systems.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Details: The autopilot function is performed by the Skynode on-board microcomputer of the American company Auterion, which costs only US$15. During 2024, the technology was tested, in particular on the battlefield in Ukraine. Now, mass production has been approved.
This was made possible by integrating affordable computers into compact systems capable of reproducing functions that were previously only available in much more expensive technologies.
Quote from Lorenz Meier, Auterion founder and chief executive: "None of this is new. The difference is the price."
More details: Ukraine will receive tens of thousands of Auterion microcomputers. The first mass-produced drones of this kind will appear on the battlefield in early 2025. Vyriy Drone has announced that it would produce several thousand of these drones. Other companies are also ramping up production.
The results also open up prospects for further developments, including the creation of systems where one pilot can simultaneously control a swarm of drones capable of flying autonomously and coordinating their actions. Auterion is cooperating with Ukrainian startup Swarmer in this area, while Vyriy Drone is working with Sine Engineering, another Ukrainian company.
Russia has also announced that it is using computer-controlled drones. In addition, drones with fibre-optic cables have already appeared in service in Russia, allowing their operators to avoid the effects of hostile electronic warfare stations.
Oleksii Babenko, the founder of Vyriy Drone, said that autopiloted drones have a success rate of about 9 out of 10.
Almost all the components for the drone are made in Ukraine. The engines and video cameras come from China, while the minicomputer comes from another country.
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