Drone technology from Lviv: Sinelink, Ukraine’s hidden AI drone radio network

One of the decisive drone technologies of modern warfare may be hidden in an inconspicuous case – placed on the smallest stand at a trade show in Lviv. While the world is still debating individual systems, Ukraine is already working out of sight on the next level: an intelligent radio network that lets drones do without GPS, achieve significantly greater ranges and, for the first time, actually operate en masse.

At the “Drone Autonomy Symposium” in Lviv, the small desk hardly stands out. No stand at the event is smaller, and one half of the desk is taken up by promotional material. On the other half sits a briefcase containing inconspicuous electronic parts.

Only after a while does it become clear what this is: components that are already installed in almost all the AI drones on the surrounding stands – and not only there. The contents of the case explain what experts reviewing countless drone videos from Ukraine in recent months have so far been unable to interpret. What can be seen is the next stage of development of combat drone technology in the utterly merciless drone war in Ukraine.

The modules are the Ukrainian Sinelink communication system, developed and produced by Sine Engineering in Lviv. While the whole world is still talking about fibre-optic drones, Sinelink is redefining drone warfare. Of the roughly 200 drone manufacturers in Ukraine, well over 100 already use Sinelink modules. The system is thus currently rewriting the rules of the drone war in Ukraine. It has long been known in Russia, but for the first time Russia is failing to catch up quickly in drone technology.

Mesh network instead of GPS dependence

Sine Engineering focuses on critical communication and navigation systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), designed for the conditions of modern warfare. The aim is a technological edge for the Ukrainian military: the company’s solutions are intended to make it possible to deploy autonomous drones en masse and without GPS.

As is usual for the war in Ukraine, the company relies on highly available technology, low prices, rapid scalability and short delivery times. After all, the war does not wait and consumes materiel in enormous quantities.

In August 2025, Russian analysts recovered a Sine circuit board from the wreckage of a Ukrainian drone for the first time. Since then, the manufacturer’s components have been turning up more and more often and everywhere in the drone war.

CEO Andriy Chulik explains the origins: “Originally it was intended for data relay and for setting up mesh networks on the battlefield. A mesh network is, in short, a decentralised, self-configuring network in which the nodes themselves determine which route the data should take to reach the operator. To determine which route the data should take, each node evaluates the signal level of other nodes within range. Based on this data, the node chooses to whom it should pass the ball.”

Technically, the principle is based on ultra-wideband, with the LoRaWAN specifications serving as inspiration. War, however, does not respect the rules and limits of radio and telecommunications authorities. For the time being, a frequency range of 500–1,010 MHz has therefore been implemented; Russian technical analysts consider an extension into the 6 GHz range possible. In the current 510 MHz bandwidth, data rates of up to 20/30 kbit/s were achieved at very low power density. With 2 watts of transmission power, ranges of up to 160 kilometres were reached.

One major advantage of this radio technology is of decisive importance for tactical attack drones: it penetrates buildings. The signal reaches into cellars and bunkers, where drones can be controlled (semi-autonomously) with it.

Drone technology without GPS: navigation via radio beacons

And it does not stop there. Beyond reliable communication, Sine Engineering has developed a navigation solution based on Sinelink that works without GPS. For this, radio beacons are set up – not a dedicated additional module, but simply a standard module like those in the drones, fitted in a 3D-printed mount and powered by a high-capacity battery.

The drone measures the signal travel times to several beacons and uses them to determine its position in two-dimensional space. These current coordinates are then available to the autopilot for autonomous flight control.

The method is not error-free: Russian analysts estimate its accuracy at several tens of metres. But no more is needed, because despite such deviations the target lies squarely within the detection range of AI cameras. Currently, the low-cost modules for kamikaze drones detect and track targets at a range of about 50 to 500 metres.

Group flight against the pilot shortage

Ukraine’s biggest problem in the drone war is no longer the supply of drones, but a lack of drone pilots – even though the drone units are constantly receiving more personnel. Every drone needs a pilot to launch it, fly it and attack the target with it. Everything is controlled manually, often over distances of several tens of kilometres.

Just learning to fly often takes months of training. On top of that, on average only about 30 per cent of flights produce a tangible result.

This is where Sine Engineering wants to step in and change the use of UAVs by automating routine procedures – the launch as well as the flight to the target area and back. From a single ground station, groups of very different drones (copters, fixed-wing, Baba Yaga) can be controlled for reconnaissance and attack. One operator can thus fly many times as many missions, and depending on the mission category, the tangible results may improve significantly.

Unlike swarm flight, in which the drones communicate with one another, in group flight the operator maintains constant contact with each individual drone and retains the full situational picture of the entire group. Status, position, battery level, heading, speed and interaction with the beacon network can be called up for each drone at any time. This is regarded as crucial for making decisions and ensuring mission success.

Soldiers benefit from simpler operation: missions are planned and executed on a user interface modelled on a computer game. Sine Engineering trains military units in the use of the technology.

Several statements, including some by President Volodymyr Zelensky, indicate that drones can be controlled from practically anywhere via a low-latency link to available civilian and military communication networks. Whether the operator sits in Lviv or on a beach in Jamaica – the drones over Donetsk could be steered either way.

The discussions at the Drone Autonomy Symposium in Lviv yielded another important insight: for all the possibilities of autonomous systems, the human factor retains its decisive role. The tenor of the panel was that, above all, the final decision on the use of armed force must remain a human responsibility.

What matters is what this assessment is based on: not theoretical considerations, but the experience of people who are currently fighting a war for the survival of their country – including with (semi-)autonomous systems.