‘I Was a Skeptic’: Ukraine’s AI-Assisted Gun Turrets Shoot Down Russian Jet Drones

Robotic machine-gun turrets are shooting down Russian jet-powered drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said Monday. Speaking on Ukrainian state broadcast television, Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said the systems had successfully intercepted jet-powered unmanned aircraft, including the Geran-5. He credited artificial intelligence and machine vision with helping the turrets engage the targets.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “I was a big skeptic myself,” Ihnat said. “I wondered how this was possible.” The announcement comes as Ukraine installs additional automated gun systems around its capital to counter Russian drone attacks. The reported interceptions suggest the turrets can engage jet-powered threats, although Ihnat cautioned that their reach remains limited. Video captures the moment a Russian strike directly hit civilian vehicles crossing Kyiv’s North Bridge in broad daylight. The blast tore through daytime traffic on the major thoroughfare, damaging multiple cars and severing transit links.Video: Telegram channels pic.twitter.com/oBdVqB7qhd— KyivPost (@KyivPost) October 4, 2026 He said robotic turrets were being deployed at locations including bridges. Their principal weapon is currently a machine gun, restricting the distance at which they can shoot down incoming drones.Ihnat attributed the successful engagements to technology that, in his description, eliminated human error and improved targeting calculations. He specifically identified machine vision as part of the interception process, saying AI allowed the systems to engage even jet-powered aircraft.President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that more than a dozen turrets had already been installed in Kyiv, with another eight planned for the surrounding Kyiv region. Other Topics of Interest Merz in Kyiv: Support Under Fire During a surprise visit to Kyiv on the weekend, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package of one billion euros for military operations and 350 million for the energy sector for Ukraine. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said Ukraine had begun deploying automated combat modules in response to the jet-drone threat. The systems described in the report are designed for .50-caliber machine guns.For the capital, the rollout comes amid attacks on transport infrastructure. Russian forces attacked Kyiv’s North Bridge on the morning of Oct. 4, and Zelensky subsequently released footage of the strike. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.