(Dan Tri) – Russia upgraded its low-cost first-person view (FPV) UAVs with new features to help them operate more effectively in the war with Ukraine.
UAVs are increasingly being improved by all parties to improve combat effectiveness (Photo: Defense Express).
Defense Express reported that Ukrainian communications and electronic warfare expert Sergei `Flash` Beskrestnov said Russia has improved its low-cost FPV UAV, adding features that could increase the risk.
`For the first time, I saw a video from a Russian FPV drone with machine vision and automatic target acquisition functions. Furthermore, it was in thermal imaging mode,` he said.
Machine vision is a technology that helps UAVs have the ability to inspect, review and analyze automatically based on images, thereby making relevant decisions.
According to expert Ukarine, this Russian technology is still quite rudimentary, but Moscow has begun to deploy it on the front lines.
Even so, the application of technology is significant.
Basically, the use of such `modernized` drones will help Russian UAVs bypass Ukraine’s electronic warfare system.
In addition, because UAVs can operate more automatically, Russia does not need operators with too much experience because it does not require too complicated operations to reach the target and attack.
Defense Express reported that Russia has announced training activities for 3,500 people to operate FPV drones.
Although Russia’s improved FPV UAV is more expensive, its machine vision and automatic target acquisition feature will help it be more effective in hitting moving targets, increasing its range.
Russia’s equipping of UAVs with thermal imaging cameras helps these weapons operate effectively at night, increasing the level of danger.
Machine vision is one of the technologies that can pave the way for the application of artificial intelligence to weapons technology.
According to artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and observers, the Russia-Ukraine war could be the premise for the launch of fully automatic combat devices on the battlefield.
If this happens, it will mark a new era of modern warfare, comparable to the time when the emergence of machine guns led to a redefinition of fighting methods.
The development of unmanned technology in recent times makes experts believe that the longer the war lasts, the greater the possibility of self-operating devices appearing.
However, the biggest concern for policymakers is whether the technology is reliable enough to ensure that airborne weapons mistakenly strike non-combatants, such as civilians.