Despite repeated rounds of international diplomacy, sanctions, and shifting front lines, the most recent chapter of the Russo-Ukrainian War doesn't seem to be closing out anytime soon as both sides remain firmly entrenched in a prolonged, bloody conflict.
Amid this ongoing standoff, Ukraine recently launched a major drone operation deep inside Russian territory. And it used an open source software, ArduPilot, for that.
Open Source in the Battlefield
Source: Jimmy Rushton
As part of Operation Spiderweb, Ukraine launched a coordinated drone attack targeting four airbases deep inside Russian territory, using over 100 FPV drones that were smuggled across the border inside modified shipping containers loaded on trucks.
According to Ukrainian reports, this attack has resulted in the destruction and damage to 41 Russian military aircraft, including strategic bombers such as the Tu-95, Tu-160, and Tu-22M3.
And, as new videos of the operation surface, it's clear that the operators used ArduPilot to set flight paths and manage navigation, helping all those kamikaze drones reach their targets.
Chris Anderson, one of the ArduPilot co-founders, was surprised to hear their creation was used in the operation. He said that:
18 years after @Jrdmnz @jason4short and I created ArduPilot, here it is destroying large parts of the Russian air force. Crazy
ArduPilot began as a simple project to build an autopilot system for Arduino-based hardware. Chris built an early prototype using a Lego Mindstorms kit and launched DIYdrones.com in 2007. Since then, the project’s community has grown significantly, turning ArduPilot into one of the most versatile and widely used open source autopilot systems today.
If you ask me, all of this feels like something straight out of Ace Combat 7, with drones sneaking in and hitting targets deep behind enemy lines.
This only highlights how open source software continues to find use cases beyond its original purpose, being adapted to new challenges and shaping the future of modern technology and warfare.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU/SSU) has released an official statement for those interested in more details about the operation.
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