Ukraine’s AI drones strike Russian vehicles until they finally score a hit. Is this a solution to Russian jamming?
David Axe
May 8, 2025
Euromaidan Press
Inside Ukraine’s new surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, an unassuming plywood drone is going after another Russian howitzer. Don’t let its simplicity fool you—this German-made HF-1 packs sophisticated AI that finds and strikes targets even when Russian jammers block radio signals. It’s the third attempt to hit this particular Msta-S self-propelled howitzer’s hatch, with two previous 11-kg, AI-steered drones already lying destroyed beside the 47-ton vehicle.
The Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces’ 413th Battalion posted remarkable footage Tuesday, showing a series of precision strikes on Russian military equipment in Kursk Oblast in western Russia.
One particularly strategic hit by the battalion’s HF-1 drones targeted the hatch of a Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, a potential weak point on the mobile artillery system. It was a tricky maneuver, as made clear by the remains of two other HF-1s lying beside the howitzer—and visible in the third drone’s forward-facing camera in the moment before that drone struck. Another 413th Battalion drone appears to have flown through a Russian howitzer’s open hatch.
According to the Unmanned Systems Forces, the 413th Battalion hit five tanks, 12 artillery pieces, four rocket launchers, and 11 air-defense vehicles, among other vehicles, and all in the month of April. “The increase in the pace of the unit’s combat work is the result of deep intelligence, accurate analysis, and careful planning of each operation,” the drone branch stated. These strikes in Kursk occur as both sides engage in an increasingly sophisticated electronic battle.
While Russia deploys advanced jamming systems that would render conventional drones useless, the German-engineered HF-1s contain AI that enables them to identify and strike targets even when communications are lost. This autonomous capability makes them particularly valuable against Russia’s growing electronic warfare presence along the border.
Ukraine continues to raid Kursk
The drone raids on Russian forces in Kursk came a few weeks after a sizable Ukrainian force withdrew from a 650-square-kilometer salient in the oblast, around the town of Sudzha, as its supply lines came under relentless attack by Russian fiber-optic drones. “Every time the Russians say that the situation in Kurshchyna is under control—their equipment is burning there,” the 413th Battalion boasted, using a Ukrainian slang term for Kursk.
The HF-1 raids should continue. German firm Helsing is building 4,000 HF-1s and 6,000 improved HX-2s for the Ukrainian armed forces.
The explosives-laden loitering drones, which range as far as 100 kilometers and can spot their own targets by way of an internal AI that recognizes the shapes of Russian vehicles, have been criticized for their relatively high cost.
Each sells for just under 17,000 euros, compared to a sticker price of just a few hundred euros for a radio-controlled quadcopter attack drone. But Russia’s own Lancet drone, which possesses similar capabilities, also costs around 17,000 euros.
The expensive part isn’t the drone, but the internal AI, which Helsing explained it is constantly upgrading.
The highly autonomous HF-1 and HX-2 could help Ukrainian drone units solve a vexing problem — the drones are designed to be “fully resistant to electronic warfare” through their advanced onboard AI.
This is all the more crucial, as more and more of Russia’s best Black Eye radio jammers are appearing along the front line.
While the jammers might ground a radio-controlled quadcopter, they should be less effective against a drone such as the HF-1 and HX-2 drones that select targets and navigate autonomously—guiding themselves to successful strikes without human input once launched.
The AI inside these unassuming plywood frames is turning the electronic battlefield of Ukraine into a contest where artificial intelligence increasingly counters jamming technology, potentially shifting the balance in a war where electronic supremacy has become as important as firepower.