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Ukraine wants to develop AI for drone swarms, 'cheap' missiles, Fedorov says

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Ukraine wants to develop AI for drone swarms, 'cheap' missiles, Fedorov says
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at the Globsec forum in Prague, Czechia, on Aug. 30, 2024. (Ray Baseley/The Kyiv Independent)

Ukraine seeks to involve weapons manufacturers in developing AI for drone swarms and "cheap missiles" to counter Russian kamikaze drones, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at the Globsec Forum in Prague on Aug. 30, as reported by a Kyiv Independent reporter.

Throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in drone technology, revolutionizing modern warfare.

According to Fedorov, Ukrainian soldiers now face numerous challenges, including Russian equipment and infantry, ammunition shortages, kamikaze drones, and reconnaissance drones.

In response, Ukrainian forces are employing low-cost first-person-view (FPV) drones, reconnaissance drones, small air defense systems, and domestically produced long-range drones to strike Russian targets, Fedorov said.

"What are the next challenges where we need your help? How to invent effective laser guidance, how to develop AI for swarms of drones, how to produce Ukrainian HIMARS, how to develop cheap Ukrainian missiles to shoot down Shaheds?" Fedorov said.

"I think we can succeed only together. We can work together and invent. We can produce together."

Kyiv has the capacity to manufacture more than three million drones annually but needs financing from foreign partners, Deputy Strategic Industries Minister Hanna Hvozdiar said.

‘The goal should be strategic defeat of Russia’ – Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds
Editor’s note: The transcript of this interview has been edited for clarity. Latvia has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since the start of the all-out war. Sharing a border with both Russia and its ally Belarus, the small Baltic country understands Ukraine’s struggle all too well. As
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Kateryna Denisova

News Editor

Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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The Kyiv Independent's Deputy Chief Editor Oleksiy Sorokin spoke with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her visit to Kyiv on July 15, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his deal with NATO to arm Ukraine and his threat to impose severe sanctions on Russia if it doesn't reach a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days.

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