Ukraine to share wartime combat data with allies to help train AI

Ukraine's Combat Data Sharing Initiative

By Max Hunder

Importance of Combat Data for AI

KYIV, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine will establish a system allowing its allies to train their artificial intelligence models on Kyiv's valuable combat data collected throughout the nearly four-year war with Russia, newly appointed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said.

Integration with Allies

Fedorov - a former digitalisation minister who last week took up the post to drive reforms across Ukraine's vast defence ministry and armed forces - has described Kyiv's wartime data trove as one of its "cards" in negotiations with other nations.

Development of Homegrown Drones

Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has gathered extensive battlefield information, including systematically logged combat statistics and millions of hours of drone footage captured from above.

Such data is important for training AI models, which require large volumes of real-world information to identify patterns and predict how people or objects might act in various situations. 

"Today, frontline data has extraordinary value," Fedorov told reporters in comments cleared for release on Tuesday, adding that there was demand for this data from allies. "We will build a system on which they can train their software products using our data."

Fedorov has previously said Ukraine was using AI technology from U.S. data analytics firm Palantir for both military and civilian applications.

Outlining his plans for the wartime defence ministry after his appointment, he said he wanted to "more actively" integrate allies into projects.

He said his team was receiving advice from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and RAND in the U.S., as well as Britain's Royal United Services Institute. 

MAVIC REPLACEMENT

Fedorov also said Ukraine would test its homegrown replacement for China's DJI Mavic drone this month, which is widely used for aerial reconnaissance on the front lines by both sides. He did not disclose the manufacturer.

Ukraine has previously raised concerns about reliance on Beijing for drones and components, given China's deepening diplomatic ties with Russia.

"We will have our own Mavic analogue: the same camera, but with a longer flight range," Fedorov said.

(Reporting by Max HunderEditing by Ros Russell)