Ukraine fields an AI gun turret to down jam-proof fiber-optic drones
Ukraine's military has fielded an AI-controlled turret in more than ten units to shoot down the fiber-optic drones that electronic warfare cannot jam, the Defense Ministry says.
Ukraine's military has fielded an AI-controlled turret in more than ten units to shoot down the fiber-optic drones that electronic warfare cannot jam, the Defense Ministry says.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry has fielded an AI-controlled gun turret that locks onto an incoming drone automatically and leaves the operator only to confirm the shot with one button, Militarnyi reported, citing the ministry. Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the turret, built by a company in the state-backed Brave1 cluster, is already running in more than ten units on key front-line sectors.
The system made its combat debut with the K-2 Unmanned Systems Brigade, per NextGen Defense. The ministry says it was designed against drones flown on fiber-optic cables, a spooled control wire that carries no radio signal and so cannot be jammed. Those drones have been the gap in Ukraine's electronic-warfare net, which works by breaking the radio link a UAV depends on.
The turret joined the air-defense layer over Kyiv Oblast on the night of June 2, when Russia fired 729 weapons, among them 656 drones, 8 Zircon and 33 Iskander missiles, Euromaidan Press wrote. Regional military chief Mykola Kalashnyk said operators on the "Clean Sky" anti-drone project shot down close to 100 drones on the oblast's perimeter that night.
A heavy machine gun, a tracking radar and a vision model cost a fraction of a Patriot or IRIS-T interceptor, the missiles Ukraine has been spending on cheap drones sent in to drain its stocks. Fedorov said the turret sits below those systems as a cheaper layer, and that counter-drone technology has to evolve faster than the enemy's.
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Subscribe Free →Brave1, Ukraine's state defense-tech accelerator, routes contracts to small producers and moves their prototypes to the front within months, and that channel now carries the turret software. Britain is due to deliver more than 20 Estonian-built counter-drone turrets to Ukraine in 2026 under a £600 million package, the UK government has said. Fedorov's stated next step is to scale the system across the front.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ukraine's new AI-controlled turret?
The Defense Ministry says it is an automated gun turret that locks onto an incoming drone and lets the operator confirm the shot with a single button, built by a company inside the state-backed Brave1 cluster, according to Militarnyi.
Why is it built to target fiber-optic drones?
The ministry says it was designed against drones flown on fiber-optic cables, a spooled wire that carries no radio signal and so cannot be jammed, per Militarnyi and NextGen Defense. Those drones evade Ukraine's electronic-warfare net.
Where has the turret been used?
It made its combat debut with the K-2 Unmanned Systems Brigade, per NextGen Defense, and joined Kyiv Oblast's air defense during Russia's 729-weapon attack on June 2, when "Clean Sky" teams downed close to 100 drones, Euromaidan Press reported.
How widely is it fielded?
Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the turret is already running in more than ten units on key front-line sectors, according to Militarnyi, with plans to scale it further.
How does it fit Ukraine's wider air defense?
Fedorov said it sits below Patriot and IRIS-T missiles as a cheaper layer against mass drone attacks. Britain is also due to deliver more than 20 Estonian-built counter-drone turrets in 2026 under a £600 million package, per Euromaidan Press.
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Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.