CNN: Liutyi UAVs are AI-guided

Ukrainian Lyutyi long-range drones are guided to the target with high accuracy due to “machine vision.”

CNN reported on this, citing its own sources.

The publication reports that precise strikes on the Ryazan oil refinery were made possible due to an artificial intelligence system integrated into Ukrainian drones.

A source close to Ukraine’s drone program shared that artificial intelligence, or “machine vision,” allowed the drones to “navigate and avoid obstacles.”

“Accuracy under jamming is enabled through the use of artificial intelligence. Each aircraft has a terminal computer with satellite and terrain data. The flights are determined in advance with our allies, and the aircraft follow the flight plan to enable us to strike targets with meters of precision,” the source explained.

In other words, the Liutyi drone is able to adjust its flight direction in real-time by comparing the objects it sees with a map stored in the computer. In the same way, the drone finds and hits the required object on the plant’s territory.

The introduction of a sophisticated guidance system and the accuracy of strikes within a few meters is also confirmed by the footage of the strikes, in which the drone correctly determines not only the ground coordinates of the refinery’s distillation columns but also chooses the correct hit height.

This confirms the assumption made by Militarnyi in an article with a detailed analysis of Liutyi’s wreckage that the camera was located in the nose of the drone.

In addition to accuracy, artificial intelligence also makes Ukrainian drones completely immune to Russian electronic warfare systems that can spoof GPS signals and thus throw the drones off course.

A long-range drone weighing 250-300 kilograms is capable of carrying a relatively heavy 50 kg warhead over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers.

The drone’s warhead has a thick-walled metal body with large notches to inflict powerful fragmentation damage within the radius of the attack.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, attacks using Lutyi drones on Russian oil and gas infrastructure are being supervised by two special services, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine.