Military Innovation! Ukrainian Army Uses Video Game Techniques to Destroy Enemy Infantry

The war in Ukraine has become a hotbed of military innovation. One of them is the use of "video game incentives" to increase the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their fight against the Russian invasion, writes The Economist .

"The system ensures that successful drone operators receive new drones earlier than their less effective counterparts. This process is now being modernized through what Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, called "Amazon for the Military" - a scheme that allows units to buy combat equipment with points earned for destroying Russian vehicles and other targets,“ the article explains.

It is noted that the term “gamification“, which appeared in the early 2000s, is used in many areas, from healthcare and customer loyalty programs to education and workplace productivity.

“Participants earn points; leaderboards, progress indicators, levels and badges are often used. In some cases, the points can be converted into rewards that go beyond the satisfaction of a certain in-game “victory“, the publication emphasizes.

Gamification appeared in the drone war in August 2024, when the government initiative to acquire drones “Army of Drones“ launched a "bonus" system.

"Drone warfare lends itself well to gamification, as all hits are captured by the same drone cameras used to control the aircraft, and there is already a system for recording them. (In other forms of warfare, claims can be exaggerated - fighters may not know the results of a mortar attack). Once a drone hit is registered, identified and confirmed, it earns a certain number of points depending on the military value of the target destroyed," notes The Economist.

This means that a drone operator who destroys a T-90M tank with a disposable drone will receive enough points to provide his unit with 15 more drones. Such a system encourages operators to seek high-value targets.

At the same time, the publication writes, despite the fact that Ukraine produced 1.5 million drones last year, they are never enough.

In particular, the 414th separate brigade of unmanned systems, better known as the ''Ptahy Magyara“, has effectively implemented this system. According to official data, the brigade is currently responsible for 8% of the Russian armored vehicles destroyed by Ukraine.

"In April, the unit climbed to first place in the ranking with 16,298 points, climbing from second place, and has remained there ever since“, the article adds.

As Mikhail Fedorov noted, gamification also shapes the nature of combat operations. According to him, the "Drone Army" recently increased the number of points awarded for eliminating an enemy infantryman from two to six. Thanks to this, units like the "Birds of the Magyar" immediately began to kill more infantrymen.

According to Fedorov, this led to a doubling of the losses of the Russian infantry.

"A later change doubled the number of points awarded for destroying Russian drone operators, making them more valuable targets than tanks. Such changes show how the system can change according to the priorities of commanders. They also led to a decrease in the number of tanks destroyed", noted The Economist.

War in Ukraine

Previously, Business Insider wrote that the Ukrainian defense industry is changing the West's understanding of future wars. It is noted that while Russia relies on hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Ukraine is producing drones, robotic ground vehicles and other modern systems on timescales and with budgets that would be unrealistic for most Western militaries.

According to experts, Ukraine's ability to create large numbers of drones and adapt them to changing battlefield conditions "creates a model that other armed forces are now seeking to emulate".

At the same time, Viktor Tregubov, spokesman for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, said that in the east, the Russian Federation has withdrawn 100,000 soldiers to the eastern part of the Pokrovskoye direction in order to try to advance towards Konstantinovka.

He also spoke of some intensification of the actions of the invaders in the Limanskoye direction, but, he stressed, all other directions in the area of responsibility of "Khortitsa“ have "fallen” significantly.