“It’s become truly popular among units,” said Fedorov,
of the system, which is a prime example of the
increasing automation of warfare. “All the defence
forces know about this and there’s competition for the
points, for getting these drones, electronic warfare
systems and other things to help them in warfighting.
The more infantry you kill, the more drones you get to
kill more infantry. This is becoming kind of a
self-reinforcing cycle.”
The number of Russian casualties in September is double
the number from last October, in part because the Kyiv
government doubled the rewards for killing Russian
infantry from six to 12 points, reflecting changing
battlefield priorities.
Ukrainian intelligence suggests Russia may be
developing its own gamified system to compete, he said.
Ukraine is
extending the points-for-kills approach to artillery
units by awarding points for success that can be used to
buy new arms. Reconnaissance units are also being
awarded points for spotting enemy targets and logistics
teams have started to earn points for using autonomous
vehicles rather than humans to resupply the frontlines.
Fedorov revealed the Ukrainian military is also
incentivising the use of drones partly controlled by
artificial intelligence that recommends target selection
and controls the last moments of a drone’s trajectory to
increase strike precision.
Reconnaissance units get points for what they call
“Uber targeting,” a reference to the global ride-hailing
app.
“You basically drop a pin on the map like you would
drop yourself on a Uber map for a taxi, but instead of
the taxi a drone from another unit hits the target,” he
said.
But the extension of the points-based system comes amid
warnings that increasing reliance on drone warfare is
not something Nato countries should follow because
Russian defences against such unmanned aerial attacks
have become formidable. Experts at the Royal United
Services Institute thinktank recently urged a renewed focus on
conventional artillery and aircraft.
As well as doubling the score for killing infantry to
reflect their increasing use by Russia, killing an enemy
drone operator now earns 25 points and using a drone to
capture a Russian soldier attracts 120 points,
reflecting Ukraine’s need for prisoners-of-war to trade
with the enemy. The points are agreed by the Ukrainian
cabinet but Federov said they were now “pretty much
emotionless” when putting a price on human lives.
“We’re at war for four years in a row, and it is hard,”
he said. “We’re just finding ways to be more effective.
We’re thinking of this as just part of our everyday job.
There’s little to no emotional reflection here. It feels
like just technical work. Because if you don’t stop the
enemy, he will kill your servicemen and after the
servicemen are dead, he’s going to come to a city and
he’s going to conquer, raze and kill civilians.”
The Ukrainian drone operators are stationed sometimes
as close as 250 metres from the frontline and at other
times 3km away where they sit in hides before computer
screens directing strikes, sometimes with video game
controllers. Achilles is one of the top 10 most
successful drone regiments, and operates in the eastern
part of the Kharkiv region and the Donetsk region. Its
commander, Yuriy Fedorenko, said the best pilots were
not necessarily people who were adept at video games.
“Disciplined people are the best pilots,” he said. “Of
course, if you’re younger, you can stay awake longer,
and you need less time to restore your strength. But if
the person is disciplined, that’s a good drone
operator.”
He also played down the idea that it amounted to the
“gamification” of war because sometimes orders were to
destroy targets with low-points in order to support a
short-term battle goal.
“We need to fulfil the task, first of all, because this
is war,” he said. That’s what we need to do, not chase
points”.
Another drone unit commander, Andriy Poltoratskyi,
said: “The whole unit has a competition. The drone
operators compete with each other. Groups of drone
operators compete with other groups. Even the highest
commanders compete with each other.”
He characterised it as healthy competition rather than
fun, and said that as soon as the Russians launch an
offensive “the competition stops and everybody … works
together” on whatever goal best protects Ukrainian
lives, regardless of the points on offer.
The points-for-kills system has provided Ukraine with
considerable data that means it is “getting a better
grasp of the mathematics of war”, Fedorov said.
“Thanks to the points, we’re actually starting to
understand more about what’s happening in the
battlefield,” he said. “In order to get points [drone
units] need to upload video confirmation. So we
understand what targets are being hit, where they’re
being hit in relation to the line of contact, what
drones and other means are being used.
“So we are seeing what’s more effective, what’s less
effective. Everybody sees the leaderboard, so units are
starting to go to each other to do some peer-to-peer
learning. Leaders are starting to teach and pave the way
for those who are still growing and developing …
innovation goes from the ground up.”