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"Such technology represents the future threat," cautions Serhiy Beskrestnov, who has just acquired a newly intercepted Russian drone.

This proved to be no ordinary drone as well, he discovered. Assisted by AI, this drone can locate and strike targets autonomously.

The consultant has examined many drones in his capacity as the nation's defence forces consultant.

Unlike previous versions, the drone didn't send or receive communications, causing it to could not be jammed.

Russian and Ukrainian militaries have both been testing AI in this war, and in some areas are now deploying it, for target identification, gathering intelligence and de-mining.

For the nation's military, AI has become essential.

"The military gets over 50,000 footage feeds [from the front line] every month which are processed by AI," says the defense official.

"It enables us quickly process huge volumes of information, identify targets and place them on a map."

AI-Driven Technology as a Critical Asset

AI-enhanced tech is seen as a tool that improves military strategy, make the most of assets and ultimately save lives.

But regarding autonomous armaments, it's transforming the battlefield.

Ukrainian troops already use AI-powered software enabling drones lock on a target and then operate independently for the last few hundred metres till the mission is over.

Jamming cannot be done and shooting down such a tiny airborne device proves difficult.

Ultimately such technologies will likely evolve into fully autonomous armaments that can find and eliminate objectives by themselves.

All a soldier must do is tap a button on a smartphone app, explains a tech executive, chief executive of Ukrainian tech company.

It handles everything else, he says, locating the objective, dropping explosives, assessing the impact and afterwards coming back to headquarters.

"And it would not even require piloting skills from the user," he adds.

Defensive Systems and Upcoming Advancements

Defensive unmanned craft with that kind of autonomous capability might significantly strengthen air defences targeting Russian remote strike aircraft, like the notorious certain models.

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

The official says that kind of technology is not yet available, but he mentions the country is close to finishing its creation. "They've partially integrated it in some devices," says the representative.

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

Concerns and Dangers of Total Autonomy

But Ukrainian creators are cautious about completely relying on military technologies that rely entirely on AI, without any human involvement. The danger is AI may fail to differentiate a Ukrainian fighter from a Russian one, as they may be using the identical attire, says Vadym, who asked to remain anonymous.

The firm makes remote-operated automatic weapons, that employ artificial intelligence to autonomously identify individuals and follow them. Due to concerns over friendly fire, he says they avoid including an auto-fire feature.

"It can be activated, but we need to gain further expertise and additional input from the military units to determine the safe conditions to use this feature."

Ethical Concerns and International Regulations

Additionally, there are concerns that AI-driven technologies could breach the rules of war. How will they avoid injuring non-combatants, or tell apart personnel who want to surrender?

According to the official, the final decision in these cases must be made by a human, even if AI would make it "easier to decide". But there are no guarantees that states or armed groups will follow international humanitarian norms.

So neutralizing such technologies is increasingly important.

How do you stop a "mass of unmanned craft" when electronic warfare or employing aircraft, tanks or rockets proves useless?

The nation's highly successful "Web" mission, when 100 drones attacked enemy air bases last June, is believed to be assisted by artificial intelligence.

Many in Ukraine worry that Moscow will copy this approach, not just on the battlefront but further afield as well.

The country's president cautioned the United Nations last month that AI was contributing to "the worst arms race in human history."

He urged global rules for the use of AI in armaments, and said the issue is "just as urgent as preventing the spread of atomic arms."