Скачать или смотреть Ukrainian Armed Forces use video game technology to destroy Russians on the front lines

The war in Ukraine has become a focal point for military innovation. One of them is the use of "video game incentives" to improve the effectiveness of the armed forces in the fight against the Russian invasion, writes The Economist .
"The system ensures that successful drone operators receive new drones before their less effective counterparts. This process is now being modernized with what Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, has called "Amazon for the military" - a scheme that allows units to buy combat gear with points earned by destroying Russian vehicles and other targets," the article explained.
It is noted that the term "gamification", which emerged in the early 2000s, is used in many areas, namely from healthcare and customer loyalty programs to education and workplace productivity.
"Participants accumulate points; leaderboards, progress indicators, levels and badges are common. In some cases, points can be converted into rewards that go beyond the pleasure of "winning" as defined by the game," the publication emphasized.
Gamification entered the drone war in August 2024, when the government's drone procurement initiative, the "Drone Army," launched a "bonus" system.
"Drone warfare lends itself well to gamification because all kills are recorded by the same drone cameras used to fly aircraft, and there is already a system in place to register them. (In other forms of warfare, claims can be exaggerated - combatants may not know the results of a mortar round.) Once a drone kill is registered, identified and confirmed, it is worth a certain number of points depending on the military value of the target destroyed," The Economist noted.
This means that a drone operator who destroys a T-90M tank with a disposable drone will earn enough points to earn his unit 15 more drones. This system incentivizes operators to seek out high-value targets.
At the same time, as the publication writes, despite the fact that Ukraine produced 1.5 million drones last year, there are never enough of them.
In particular, the 414th separate brigade of unmanned systems, better known as the "Birds of Magyar", has effectively implemented this system. According to official data, the brigade is now responsible for 8% of Russian armored vehicles destroyed by Ukraine.
"In April, the unit climbed to first place in the rankings with 16,298 points, up from second place, and has remained there ever since," the report added.
As Mikhail Fedorov noted, gamification also shapes the nature of combat operations. According to him, the "Drone Army" recently increased the number of points for eliminating an enemy infantryman from two to six. Thanks to this, units such as the "Birds of Magyar" immediately began to kill more infantrymen.
According to Fedorov, this led to a doubling of the number of losses among Russian infantry.
"A later change doubled the points for killing Russian drone operators, making them more valuable targets than tanks. Such changes show how the system can change to suit commanders' priorities. They also resulted in fewer tanks being destroyed," The Economist noted.