Overview

• A $50 million Pentagon deal with Swiss firm Auterion will supply Ukraine with 33,000 AI-guided strike kits before the close of 2025
• Each kit integrates a mini onboard computer, camera and radio unit to enable independent missions with real-time target identification and jamming resistance
• Swarm-enabled drones will conduct coordinated precision attacks on moving targets at ranges beyond half a mile, scaling drone conversions tenfold over current levels
• Russia has launched more than 20,500 strike and decoy drones since January, driving daily attacks nearly tenfold above late-2022 rates and cutting Ukraine’s interception success to 30–35 percent
• Moscow’s Soviet-era stockpiles have shrunk from 242,000 tonnes in 2022 to 119,000 tonnes this year, prompting reliance on Chinese and North Korean imports as Russia adapts its battlefield strategy