The AI Revolution on the battlefield

How Delta, MetaConstellation, and Saker are changing the face of war in Ukraine

In the fog of war, information is power. And in Ukraine, artificial intelligence is cutting through that fog like never before. The ongoing conflict has become a testing ground for AI-powered military systems, with Ukraine's Delta platform leading the charge. Alongside it, Palantir's MetaConstellation and the innovative Saker drones are reshaping how wars are fought in the 21st century. Far from non-realistic and Hollywood inspired robots, the real innovation lays on the management of data. Let's dive into how these groundbreaking technologies are making their mark on the battlefield.

Delta: Ukraine's AI-Powered Command Center

One of Ukraine's assets in the war against Russia is the Delta system, responsible for real-time battlefield imaging. The Ukrainian solution has been integrated with, among others, the Polish Topaz fire control system.

Delta is a system developed in Ukraine, responsible for situational awareness and battlefield management. Its task is to process data obtained from various sources (including those provided by Western countries) and display them in real time.

This gives Ukrainian commanders the ability to monitor the battlefield situation live. Delta is available on both ordinary computers as well as tablets and smartphones. The system is regarded as a key link in the Ukrainian "kill chain" (the process from target detection to destruction).

Imagine a system that can track enemy movements, predict their next steps, and help coordinate a response - all in real-time. That's Delta in a nutshell. Developed by Ukraine's military innovators, Delta is essentially a "Google for the military," as one

Here's how it works:

1. Data Collection: Delta pulls in information from various sources - drones, satellites, ground sensors, and even social media.

2. AI Analysis: The system's AI algorithms crunch this data, identifying patterns and potential threats.

3. Visualization: All this information is displayed on a user-friendly map interface, giving commanders a clear picture of the battlefield.

4. Decision Support: Delta doesn't just show what's happening - it helps predict what might happen next, aiding in strategic planning.

The impact? Ukrainian forces can react faster and more effectively to Russian movements. It's like having a crystal ball, but one powered by cutting-edge AI rather than magic. Somehow, this is the purest usage of Artificial Intelligence, as it is all about the cleaning and processing of data. Probably, Delta system has been the real first usage of AI in battle.

So it’s important to understand that Delta system isn’t a cruel autonomous weapon, but it “just” helps taking better and faster decisions to humans. My opinion is that is ridiculous to let a machine take military decisions, and moreover, NATO states cannot skip the command chain: every action taken in the battlefield and its implications must be clearly supported by a human team, and they will the unique responsibility in case anything goes wrong.

This system has not been invented in two days, but Ukraine has been developing it along last years and presenting it to their allies.

Source

Palantir's MetaConstellation: Eyes in the sky

While Delta processes information from various sources, Palantir's MetaConstellation focuses on providing top-notch satellite intelligence. This system isn't just about pretty pictures from space - it's a game-changer in how satellite data is used in warfare.

MetaConstellation does a few key things:

1. Data Fusion: It combines data from multiple satellite sources, including commercial and government satellites.

2. AI-Powered Analysis: Like Delta, MetaConstellation uses AI to analyze this data, spotting changes and anomalies that human analysts might miss.

3. Predictive Insights: The system can help predict future events based on observed patterns, giving Ukrainian forces a strategic edge.

By providing this level of insight, MetaConstellation has reportedly played a crucial role in major Ukrainian operations, including the liberation of Kherson.

It might be a completely game changing application in future wars. Moreover, according to Palantir’s corporative statements, they’re planning to give a huge push to their military division and share these kind of systems to their customers (obviously, reduced to allies of Uncle Sam).

Source

Meet the Saker Scout

In a groundbreaking development, Ukrainian developers have confirmed that their drones are now conducting autonomous strikes against Russian forces without human operators. This marks a significant milestone in warfare, as it's the first confirmed use of such technology in combat. We have been hearing about this system in the news for some months already.

This AI-powered marvel can:

• Identify and attack 64 different types of Russian military targets

• Operate in areas with heavy radio jamming

• Carry up to 3 kilos of explosives

• Travel approximately 12 kilometers

The Saker Scout isn't working alone. It's integrated with Ukraine's Delta intelligence system, creating a comprehensive battlefield map by fusing data from various sources. This integration allows for:

• Autonomous area reconnaissance

• Rapid identification of enemy positions

• Drastically reduced analysis time

• The Autonomous Attack Capability

Perhaps most controversially, the Saker Scout can conduct fully autonomous attacks. However, this point deserves a short explanation. The Saker system is not a plug & play system where the drone decides from the battlefield which enemy to attack. No. The reality is a bit different: due to electromagnetic defenses (jamming), drones from both sides cannot get near to their enemies line of front without being detected, or having their communications abolished due to jamming. So Ukrainians designed a very clever solution. A human pilot can fly till the area where jamming starts, and even choose somewhere in the enemy’s field to attack. Then, the soldier can switch the flight mode to autonomous, and the Saker system will guide the drone to the objective that the soldier pointed a minute before. This way, jamming cannot stop the drones. Obviusly, the robots cannot decide of which enemy to attack. The aerial robot can fly autonomously for less than 1km normally, and this tactics is called terminal autonomy.

While this capability has only been used on a small scale so far, it raises significant ethical questions and concerns about the future of warfare.

Interestingly, the Saker company wasn't born out of military needs. Founded in 2021, it originally focused on developing affordable AI for small businesses, particularly in agriculture. However, Russia's invasion prompted a swift pivot to military applications.

Source

Conclusion

All the new mass surveillance developed for this war is making that many traditional weapons, such as tanks, don’t get nearer than 8-10km than the front, as they’re inmmediately detected: old war tactics are getting obsolete.

As Ukraine continues to deploy these AI-enabled drones, the world watches closely. The use of autonomous weapons in combat is no longer a hypothetical scenario - it's happening now. One thing's for sure - the genie is out of the bottle. AI-powered systems like Delta, MetaConstellation, and Saker are here to stay, and they're reshaping our understanding of modern warfare. As we watch these technologies evolve on the battlefields of Ukraine, we're getting a glimpse of conflicts to come - for better or for worse.