Ukraine Is Now A Testbed For Western Weapons And Battlefield Innovation

"Ghost", 24, a soldier with the 58th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, catches a drone while testing it so it can be used nearby. Leah Millis/Reuters  

CNN: How Ukraine became a testbed for Western weapons and battlefield innovation  

Last fall, as Ukraine won back large swaths of territory in a series of counterattacks, it pounded Russian forces with American-made artillery and rockets. Guiding some of that artillery was a homemade targeting system that Ukraine developed on the battlefield. 

A piece of Ukrainian-made software has turned readily available tablet computers and smartphones into sophisticated targeting tools that are now used widely across the Ukrainian military. 

The result is a mobile app that feeds satellite and other intelligence imagery into a real-time targeting algorithm that helps units near the front direct fire onto specific targets. And because it’s an app, not a piece of hardware, it’s easy to quickly update and upgrade, and available to a wide range of personnel. 

US officials familiar with the tool say it has been highly effective at directing Ukrainian artillery fire onto Russian targets.  

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WNU Editor: There is a lot of truth to the saying "never let a crisis go to waste". One can also now say "never let a war go to waste".

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