According to Ukrainian Major General Vladyslav Klochkov, Russia is reportedly testing a new lethal drone called “Shahed MS001” in combat, which utilizes AI and intelligent thermal imaging technology to autonomously identify and attack targets without the need for coordinates, while evading most air defense systems.
It is claimed that the drone is equipped with an NVIDIA Jetson Orin AI chip, which enables it to think and operate as an “autonomous combat platform capable of observing, analyzing, deciding, and attacking independently without external control.”
Currently, the Shahed MS001 drone is reported to have the following key technologies:
－ NVIDIA Jetson Orin: for machine learning, video processing, and target recognition
－ Thermal imager: for operation in low visibility and nighttime environments
－ Nasir GPS with CRPA antenna: for anti-jamming navigation
－ FPGA chip: for onboard adaptive logic
－ RF baseband: for measurement and cluster communication
Klochkov stated that the Shahed MS001 drone can select the most valuable targets, adjusting its flight path even in the face of GPS interference or target maneuvering, thus it is not merely a simple cruise missile but a “digital predator.”
Even more frightening, it can operate in a coordinated manner with a swarm of drones, maximizing destruction of targets regardless of electronic warfare or other anti-drone system attacks.
In fact, this is not the first instance of a Russian drone utilizing the NVIDIA Jetson Orin chip.
A month ago, Ukrainian media reported that a new drone called V2U possesses AI suicide attack capabilities, based on NVIDIA’s small AI computer.
The difference is that the Shahed MS001 is more Iranian-designed, while the V2U relies on Chinese technology, including the Chinese-made Leetop A603 carrier board.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, the West has been making every effort to block Russia from acquiring Western technology, but there seem to be constant loopholes.
A spokesperson for NVIDIA stated: “Our Jetson Orin modules are consumer products sold to students, developers, and startups for various beneficial applications. These products are not sold in Russia and are not designed for military purposes. If any Jetson Orin distributors are found to violate U.S. export control regulations, we will cut off their supply.”
NVIDIA Jetson Orin is a series of developer kits that come with a comprehensive AI software stack and ecosystem for developing rich AI applications.
It includes multiple series such as AGX, NX, and Nano, with various versions, all of which are compact, with the smallest measuring 69.6 x 45 mm and the largest only 110 x 110 mm, and configurations vary.Computing power ranges from a minimum of 34 TOPS to a maximum of 275 TOPS.
CPUs can have 6-12 Arm Cortex-A78AE cores, with frequencies ranging from 1.7 to 2.2 GHz; GPUs can have 512-2048 CUDA cores and 16-64 Tensor cores, with frequencies ranging from 1.0 to 1.3 GHz.
Memory ranges from 64-bit 4GB to 256-bit 64GB, all LPDDR5; storage options include external storage or built-in 64GB eMMC 5.1.
Some models may include one or two NVDLA deep learning accelerators, vision accelerators, and a rich set of video encoding/decoding, display, camera, PCIe, USB, and networking functionalities.
It is currently unclear which version of the Jetson Orin is being used in the Russian drone, but regardless of which one, it is more than sufficient for drone applications.
This article is sourced from: Fast Technology
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