[Goose]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/magaz...ussia.html

This article could be behind the paywall.  Use of AI to go after Russian targets and not having to rely on GPS to do.

A quote from one of the American developers:

“If you think military drone missions are hard,” he says, “try making Steven Spielberg happy.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-65_Maverick
As far as I can tell, the Maverick is capable of doing what these drones are doing, and has been doing it for many, many years. "Locking on" to a target designated by a human operator with a fire and forget missile isn't new. It also isn't really AI, although similar algorithms (and "training" of the software) are used in some cases. IMO, nothing to see here folks. The electronics in a Maverick is quite small, and would easily fit a drone. The sensors are not big either, but in some cases have a wide field of view that would make it harder to fit it in a drone. Again, IMO there is no great innovation involved in this task.
 
Where AI will become very important is in autonomous target recognition and identification. Drones launched that "hunt" either targets of opportunity or a specific target instance on their own without human control or intervention are the sought after holy grail. That is also where the "permissive action" questions arise. As of now, it doesn't appear Ukraine has actually made much progress in that area. Of course, there is a moment where such things go from "not working" to "working", and one often can't predict when (or if) that will happen.

[Goose]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/magaz...ussia.html

This article could be behind the paywall.  Use of AI to go after Russian targets and not having to rely on GPS to do.

A quote from one of the American developers:

“If you think military drone missions are hard,” he says, “try making Steven Spielberg happy.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-65_Maverick
As far as I can tell, the Maverick is capable of doing what these drones are doing, and has been doing it for many, many years. "Locking on" to a target designated by a human operator with a fire and forget missile isn't new. It also isn't really AI, although similar algorithms (and "training" of the software) are used in some cases. IMO, nothing to see here folks. The electronics in a Maverick is quite small, and would easily fit a drone. The sensors are not big either, but in some cases have a wide field of view that would make it harder to fit it in a drone. Again, IMO there is no great innovation involved in this task.
 
Where AI will become very important is in autonomous target recognition and identification. Drones launched that "hunt" either targets of opportunity or a specific target instance on their own without human control or intervention are the sought after holy grail. That is also where the "permissive action" questions arise. As of now, it doesn't appear Ukraine has actually made much progress in that area. Of course, there is a moment where such things go from "not working" to "working", and one often can't predict when (or if) that will happen.