Ukraine has 2 mln hours of drone footage to train AI for warfare: Report

Since the Ukraine-Russia war which began in 2022, Ukrainian drone operators have collected over 2 million hours of video, equivalent to 228 years of footage, to support AI-driven decision-making in combat, according to a recent report by Reuters.

 

Oleksandr Dmitriev, founder of OCHI, a Ukrainian non-profit digital system, revealed that his platform centralises and analyses video feeds from more than 15,000 frontline drone crews. This data is valuable in case of developing AI capable of identifying targets, optimising weapon trajectories, and learning combat tactics. Dmitriev told Reuters, "This is food for the AI. If you want to teach an AI, you give it 2 million hours (of video), it will become something supernatural."

Initially launched to provide battlefield commanders with real-time drone footage on a unified display, the OCHI system evolved to preserve video data for analysis. The platform stores approximately five to six terabytes of new footage daily, creating a detailed record of the conflict, as per the report.

Dmitriev noted that the vast dataset represents "experience turned into mathematics," enabling AI to study and refine strategies such as determining optimal angles and trajectories for weapon use.

Ukraine's foreign allies have expressed interest in the OCHI system, though Dmitriev declined to specify details. Experts believe the dataset offers a significant advantage in training AI systems to interpret complex battlefield environments, according to the report.

The integration of AI into warfare has already reshaped battlefield dynamics, with both sides in the Ukraine conflict deploying AI for target identification and strategic decision-making.