French sources report familiarization with new Ukrainian image fusion software (which compiles important information from multiple images), “Vega,” which is currently installed in Ukrainian Armed Forces command posts. This should help Kyiv counter the growing number of Russian offensives on the front lines.
It is noted that discussion of this secret image fusion software, which is currently being widely distributed to Ukrainian armed forces command posts, is prohibited. French sources reported that “Vega” could help Kyiv refine artillery and loitering munition strikes to better deter Russian advances in the Donbas and Kherson region.
In early April, the software was connected to “Delta,” the leading geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) application in Ukraine’s digital warfare arsenal. “Delta” integrates information from a wide range of satellite, drone, and human geolocation sensors. This article describes how Vega operates on a tablet on the front lines. The software combines all imagery with precise geographic coordinates, obtained from reconnaissance UAVs and FPV drones operating in a specific location, in real time.
Vega is easy to use and can be launched on a simple tablet using a pre-installed, secure app.
When the app is opened, a geo-referenced map of Ukraine appears. The operator zooms in on a selected location, and illuminated dots indicate drones flying in the area and provide some information about their status. Simply tap on a drone, and its video feed will appear. Multiple images can be viewed simultaneously on the large screen. The software plays a crucial role in frontline reconnaissance, as it allows any officer conducting maneuvers in the field to obtain first-class video reconnaissance data. It provides a broad overview of enemy movements and positions in real time.
The new interface was secretly developed by a team of researchers, students, and IT specialists from the Kyiv Military Institute of Telecommunications and Informatization, led by General Viktor Ostapchuk. Colonel Grigory Radzivilov is the project manager. All those working on the project are military personnel who were carefully selected for their technical skills or their involvement in developing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) fusion programs in Delta and Krapiva, key components of Ukraine’s command, control, communications, and computer intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).
According to a Ukrainian IT expert, the development of Vega was complex, as is its day-to-day management. This presents a technological challenge due to the colossal volume of video data that must be stored and combined using artificial intelligence algorithms.
The deployment of Vega remains shrouded in secrecy due to the paradigm shift it represents in terms of military communications. Some members of the new Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky’s inner circle, trained in secrecy at Soviet-era military academies, insist on greater discretion.
This contrasts with the prevailing practice to date. In the eyes of the new command, the media’s promotion of the military-technological innovations of Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and his Brave 1 defense cluster represents weakness. They believe that communications in this strategic technological sphere are becoming increasingly vulnerable to espionage, something at which, they claim, specialists from the Ninth Directorate of Russian military intelligence excel.
An example of this, which is currently haunting the secrecy-minded adherents of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, is the strike on the SBU’s Sea Baby naval drone production unit after it was exposed in Western media photographs.
