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"This technology constitutes the future threat," cautions Serhiy Beskrestnov, who has just acquired a recently captured enemy drone.

This proved to be far from typical drone either, he discovered. Powered by artificial intelligence, the unmanned aerial vehicle can locate and strike objectives autonomously.

The consultant has inspected numerous drones in his role as the nation's defence forces consultant.

In contrast to previous versions, it didn't send or receive communications, causing it to could not be jammed.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have both been testing AI in the conflict, and in some areas they are already deploying it, for finding targets, intelligence collection and de-mining.

For the Ukrainian army, AI has become indispensable.

"The military gets over 50,000 video streams [from the battlefield] every month that get analysed by AI," says the defense official.

"It enables us quickly handle huge volumes of information, pinpoint objectives and place them on a digital chart."

AI-Empowered Technology as a Critical Asset

AI-enhanced technology is regarded as a tool that improves military strategy, optimize assets and ultimately protect personnel.

But when it comes to unmanned weapons systems, it's revolutionizing the battlefield.

The country's soldiers already use AI-powered software enabling drones fix on a objective and subsequently operate independently for the last few hundred metres until the operation is over.

Signal disruption cannot be done and destroying such tiny airborne device proves difficult.

Ultimately these systems are expected to become completely independent armaments that are able to find and eliminate targets by themselves.

An operator must do is press a button on a smartphone app, notes a tech executive, head of Ukrainian developer.

The drone will do everything else, he says, locating the target, releasing explosives, assessing the damage and afterwards coming back to headquarters.

"It doesn't demand piloting skills from the user," he continues.

Interceptor Drones and Future Advancements

Interceptor drones with such autonomous capability could significantly enhance air defences targeting Russian long-range attack drones, like the infamous Shaheds.

"An AI-driven autonomous system can be better than a person in so many ways," says the executive. "It can be sharper. It can see the target sooner than a human can. It is quicker."

The official says that kind of system does not exist yet, but he mentions Ukraine is close to completing its development. "We have partly implemented it in some devices," states the deputy defence minister.

There could even be thousands of such systems deployed by the year 2026, predicts Azhnyuk.

Concerns and Dangers of Full Autonomy

But Ukrainian developers are cautious about completely relying on defence systems that rely entirely on AI, with no human involvement. The risk is that AI may fail to differentiate a friendly fighter from a Russian combatant, as they may be using the same uniform, notes Vadym, who declined to give his surname.

The firm makes remotely controlled automatic weapons, that employ artificial intelligence to automatically detect individuals and follow them. Due to concerns over accidental attacks, he says they don't have an auto-fire feature.

"It can be activated, but we must get more experience and more feedback from the military units to understand when it is safe to use this feature."

Ethical Concerns and International Regulations

There are also concerns that automated systems will violate the laws of armed conflict. How can they prevent harming non-combatants, or distinguish soldiers who want to surrender?

For the deputy defence minister, the ultimate choice in such circumstances should rest with a person, although AI could make it "easier to decide". Yet it's not certain that states or militant factions will follow global humanitarian standards.

So neutralizing such technologies is even more important.

How do you stop a "mass of unmanned craft" when jamming or using jets, armored vehicles or missiles proves useless?

Ukraine's very effective "Spider Web" mission, when 100 unmanned aircraft attacked Russian air bases last June, is believed to be assisted by AI tools.

Numerous locals fear that Moscow may replicate this approach, not only on the battlefront but further afield as well.

The country's leader cautioned the United Nations last month that AI was fueling "the most destructive weapons competition in history."

He urged global rules for the use of AI in armaments, and said the matter is "just as urgent as preventing the spread of nuclear weapons."