Notable AI Weapons Systems
Doctrine & Strategy
Russia's AI warfare doctrine has been dramatically shaped — and exposed — by the conflict in Ukraine. Pre-war aspirations for networked autonomous warfare ran into the practical limitations of AI under contested electromagnetic environments, GPS denial, and EW-saturated battlefields. The war has produced a pragmatic, iterative approach to military AI: deploy what works, scale what kills, and learn under live fire. The Lancet loitering munition emerged from this crucible as Russia's most effective autonomous weapons contribution — relatively simple AI with proven combat utility in destroying high-value Ukrainian assets including radar systems, howitzers, and armored vehicles.
Russia's doctrine emphasizes electronic warfare dominance as the precondition for autonomous systems employment. The Krasukha, Borisoglebsk, and RB-301B Borisoglebsk-2 systems are designed to deny adversary GPS, datalinks, and drone navigation before committing autonomous ground or air assets. This layered EW-then-autonomy approach reflects lessons from early failures where Ukrainian EW successfully disrupted Russian drone operations. Russia has rapidly adapted, moving toward drones with optical flow navigation and AI-based visual position holding that are less dependent on GPS.
Looking forward, Russia's Rostec, Kronshtadt, and ZALA Aero are developing next-generation autonomous platforms informed by Ukraine data. The Okhotnik-B represents a strategic bet on a stealth heavy UCAV comparable to the US B-21 Raider concept. However, Western sanctions have severely constrained access to advanced chips and sensors, forcing Russia to rely on Chinese and domestic component supply chains that limit AI system sophistication. Russia's AI warfare capability score reflects this structural constraint: effective but not cutting-edge, proven but not dominant.