System rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be used to buy more weapons in an online store

A computer game-style drone attack system has gone “viral” among Ukrainian military units and is being extended to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations, the nation’s first deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has told the Guardian.

Drone teams competing for points under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” killed or wounded 18,000 Russian soldiers in September, with 400 drone units now taking part in the competition, up from 95 in August, Ukrainian officials said.

The system, which launched more than a year ago, rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be exchanged to buy more weapons in an “Amazon-for-war” online store called Brave1 filled with more than 100 different drones, autonomous vehicles and other drone war material. It has a leaderboard topped by teams with names such as Achilles and Phoenix.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    13 hours ago

    The game America’s Army was supposed to be pretty good and a solid recruiting tool. I played just a bit, seemed great, didn’t get into it. Very surprised the West, particularly America, hasn’t gone nuts on gaming war.

    So yeah, we’ll have teenagers flying drones against one another soon enough. Better than charging Maxim machine guns by a long shot.