Russian defense minister says Moscow developing AI system to counter Ukrainian drone attacks

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said Monday that Russia plans to introduce artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making into its air defense system by November as part of efforts to improve protection against drone attacks.

Speaking at a meeting with military correspondents in Moscow, Belousov said the AI initiative was one of seven defense projects scheduled for completion by the end of the year and was being developed in cooperation with civilian companies.

“We are already actively working on this in air defence. This is one of the seven projects that we must implement by the end of this year,” he said. “The result should be delivered by November.”

Belousov said Russia had been building a unified information system since April to improve situational awareness of drone attacks, adding that software was being deployed from the tactical level upward to enable commanders to detect targets, monitor the battlefield and manage combat operations.

He also said Russia had established a layered defense system against drones across all military groupings involved in combat operations in Ukraine and was actively deploying mobile fire groups to counter unmanned aerial vehicles.

The nature of drone threats facing both Russian regions and forces in Ukraine changes every two to three months, Belousov said, requiring constant adaptation of defensive measures.