Financial Times: AI drone swarms set to revolutionise warfare

AI-powered drone swarms are poised to transform modern battlefields, with software enabling groups of unmanned aircraft to coordinate attacks and overwhelm enemy defences. These swarms allow multiple drones to operate as a single, intelligent force, controlled by a single operator.

Lorenz Meier, CEO of US-German start-up Auterion, described swarming as a “very big moment.” Auterion’s “drone swarm strike engine,” Nemyx, turns individual drones into a coordinated force through a simple software upgrade, Caliber.Az reports, referring to the latest article by the Financial Times.

While not yet deployed in combat, Auterion is shipping 33,000 AI drone “strike kits” to Ukraine under a Pentagon contract, which can be upgraded for swarm operations. Meier noted that militaries are increasingly studying the technology for its ability to saturate defences.

Swarmer, a Kyiv-based company, has deployed swarming software in over 82,000 operations since Russia’s 2022 invasion, with drones autonomously communicating, deciding flight paths, and launching attacks in real time. CEO Serhii Kupriienko likens swarms to living organisms, emphasizing autonomy and adaptability.

Swarming has proven effective in other conflicts, such as Russia’s use of Shahed drones to overwhelm Ukrainian defences. The latest AI systems enhance this by enabling learning, rather than relying on simple communication relays. Ukrainian firms benefit from the Universal Military Dataset, a classified archive of combat drone footage, which is crucial for training AI models, according to Eveline Buchatskiy of D3 venture capital.

Open software platforms, as Michael Holm of Systematic notes, allow rapid integration, making swarms operational in days or weeks. Still, critics warn that AI-driven swarms risk transferring significant decision-making from humans to machines. European companies, Scherf of Helsing adds, maintain human oversight in line with doctrine and values.

Electronic warfare remains a challenge, as swarms depend on continuous drone-to-drone communication, which can be jammed. Beyond military use, swarming algorithms are being explored for logistics, agriculture, and disaster response, with start-ups in Silicon Valley, Shenzhen, and Tel Aviv testing drones for warehouse automation, firefighting, and crowd monitoring.

Regulatory standards for safety and data use will be essential for commercial applications.

By Tamilla Hasanova