From hours to minutes: Ukrainian forces develop AI system for battlefield command

The Ukrainian military has unveiled the Marichka intelligent communications system, designed to speed up decision-making for combat operations. It will analyse tasks and model possible courses of action based on battlefield data.

Source: Colonel Yurii Kliat, head of the Central Research Institute (CRI) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at a briefing

Details: Senior commanders, including those at brigade, army corps and force grouping level, make decisions on various types of combat operations based on approved doctrinal documents that are constantly being adapted to modern warfare. According to Kliat, commanders currently need between six and 12 hours to analyse and process information and make a decision.

"A commander and their staff have to prepare around 20 documents, the final ones of which should establish the balance of forces and assets, the distribution of units among the elements of the battle formation, and the balance of combat capabilities. This is a labour-intensive process in terms of the personnel involved," Yurii Kliat explained.

Operating within closed and secure networks, Marichka makes it possible to collect information centrally, automatically calculate the balance of forces and assets, and provide commanders with a proposed course of action. Kliat said the system transforms data streams into rapid, well-founded decisions or proposed options for addressing situations on the battlefield.

"The nature of possible actions is assessed, and different courses of action are also modelled. But the final decision still rests with the commander," Kliat said.

The military believes that introducing the system will make it possible to prepare decision options in accordance with military standards and doctrines at regiment and brigade levels in a matter of minutes, rather than taking at least six hours.

The colonel said that in today's fast-moving combat environment, where the situation could change rapidly, six hours could prove fatal and critical. He added that a decision made according to old standards would already be outdated by the time it was taken.

The Marichka intelligent communications system is currently at the working prototype stage. After testing, the system will be transferred to secure communications channels, and its developers plan to obtain official authorisation to process classified data. In the future, they plan to create a secure environment based on Marichka for handling information with higher classification levels.

"We have an understanding of the complete architecture of a combat operation up to the strategic level. It is not just an AI-powered drone or something at the radar level, but a fully implemented architecture of models at every level that interact with one another. This will make it possible to significantly speed up information processing, command and control, weapons management and the management of assets currently used on the battlefield," Andrii Lebedenko, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said, commenting on the system's development.

Background:

• Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the Ministry of Defence had completed the implementation of Mission Control, a unified digital drone management system within the DELTA ecosystem, which was launched in January. It is already operating across all corps and force groupings.
• In April 2026, Ukraine and Germany also signed an agreement on the exchange of defence data. It was the first memorandum of its kind for Ukraine.

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