上一篇：乌克兰在与俄罗斯的战斗中开创了AI无人机群：WSJ

On a recent night mission, a group of Ukrainian drones coordinated their own attack on Russian forces, an example of how Kyiv is using artificial intelligence to give unmanned aircraft the ability to operate in swarms, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The technology, developed by Ukrainian startup Swarmer, allows multiple drones to share information, assign roles and adapt mid-flight. After a human sets the target, the drones figure out the rest, Chief Executive Serhii Kupriienko said to the newspaper, noting that the system reduces the need for human operators while increasing efficiency.

Ukrainian forces began testing Swarmer’s software a year ago for laying mines, and it is now regularly used to strike soldiers, equipment and infrastructure. One officer said his unit has deployed the technology in more than 100 missions, usually with three to eight drones, though trials have scaled up to 25. The software is being prepared for tests involving more than 100 drones.

The system typically pairs a reconnaissance UAV with two bomber drones, which then decide among themselves the timing and order of strikes. According to the officer, three people can now run operations that once required nine, freeing up manpower for other battlefield needs.

Military experts see swarm coordination as the next frontier in drone warfare, offering the potential for dozens, or even thousands, of drones to overwhelm defenses. While Ukraine’s deployments don’t yet match that scale, even small autonomous groupings are considered a breakthrough.

Swarmer’s rise illustrates how quickly AI is reshaping combat, though the technology has faced hurdles such as overloaded communication networks and higher costs per drone. The company, backed by U.S. investors, is part of a global race that includes the U.S., China, Russia, Israel and others.

Critics warn that as drones make more decisions independently, ethical questions loom about machines exercising lethal force. For now, Swarmer stresses that a human still makes the final call before an attack.

“Folks have been talking about the potential of drone swarms to change warfare for decades,” Zak Kallenborn, a drone-warfare analyst, said to the Journal. “But until now, they’ve been more prophecy than reality.”