German Quantum Systems Delivers AI Drone to Ukraine

German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems has delivered a Vector AI drone to Ukraine, equipped with artificial intelligence and an acoustic artillery detection system.

Seibel announced on LinkedIn that the drone, named Vector AI, combines reconnaissance capabilities with the ability to detect and locate enemy artillery fire. The integrated WASP (Weles Acoustic Sensor Payload) — developed by Polish subsidiary Weles Acoustics — can identify artillery shots at distances up to 15 kilometers and small arms fire up to 2.5 kilometers.

“Acoustic sensors have reached the Ukrainian front. Vector AI is able to determine the direction and distance of artillery fire and provides a flight duration of up to 4 hours,” company co-founder Florian Seibel said.

The lightweight 150-gram sensor is undergoing field tests at Ukrainian military training grounds and on combat missions, with software refinements in progress. Oleksandr Berezhny, director of Quantum Systems’ Ukrainian office, said the tests aim to showcase “the additional capabilities of Quantum Systems systems for possible reordering.”

The WASP sensor has also been integrated into Quantum Systems’ Twister drones, which can be deployed in two minutes, operate for up to 90 minutes, and carry the Nighthawk2 optical module with both day and thermal vision channels.

According to Berezhny, the WASP system has a detection accuracy of 85 points (5 degrees) at a range of 5 kilometers — sufficient for approximate target identification. Quantum Systems is developing automation that would allow the drone’s camera to automatically focus on the detected firing source, though it remains unclear if this feature is active on drones currently deployed.

In June, Quantum Systems announced plans to begin Twister drone production in Ukraine, just months after unveiling the model.