Eric Schmidt, who used to be CEO of Google, is working on a secret project that was first called White Stork and is now said to be called Project Eagle. This project is making AI-powered combat drones. The goal of this project is to completely change military technology by making drones that use AI to find and attack targets accurately in all kinds of fighting conditions.
The Search For The Best People
Schmidt has been actively hiring top people from prestigious companies like Apple, SpaceX, Google, and federal government agencies to work on his company’s AI-guided drone project. About a dozen new workers have joined the company in the last few months. To keep things secret, the business runs through a network of LLCs.
Also, the tech billionaire has been personally involved in testing and development. He often goes to Ukraine to check on work and get feedback from military officials there. People who live near Schmidt’s family office in Silicon Valley, Hillspire, have seen people flying small drones from the patio of the building, which is gated. People who know what he does in Kyiv say that his team has been testing drone prototypes with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
White Stork, Also Known As Project Eagle
Under the surface, Eric Schmidt started White Stork in August 2023. The company has been running through a network of LLCs. It changed its name from Swift Beat Holdings to White Stork Group LLC in September. Schmidt is the only person who really owns Volya Robotics OÜ, which is the parent company for Swift Beat, according to Delaware business records.
The main goal of the project is to make mass-produced drones that can be used in places where GPS signals are blocked and have AI for visual aiming. White Stork’s activities are still secret, but everyone in the drone community knows about them. Schmidt is personally looking into Ukrainian factories and testing ranges while also calling out to different startups.
Combat Drones With AI
Schmidt’s main goal with his business is to make drones that use AI to find and attack targets accurately on the battlefield. These AI-powered drones, which are sometimes called “suicide” or “kamikaze” drones, are meant to hang out in battle zones and attack targets whenever they see a chance. Schmidt has been a strong supporter of these kinds of drones, pointing out how they could change modern fighting by letting swarms of AI-guided drones work together algorithmically and get around enemy defenses. But the fast use of AI in battle brings up important moral and legal issues, which some experts think are not changing fast enough to keep up with technical progress.
Doing Tests In Ukraine
Schmidt has been to Ukraine many times and seen drone warfare for himself. He has been praised by Ukrainian leaders, such as Mykhailo Fedorov, who is the Minister of Digital Transformation. In 2023, his team put on shows for groups like the 14th Regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is a specialized unit that does both drone warfare and surveillance. Sources say Schmidt’s team has been testing drone versions with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and asking for feedback on how to make the technology better. That’s not all the millionaire has done for Ukraine’s defense. He has also given millions of dollars to a Ukrainian startup accelerator called D3, which helps defense tech companies in the country get their first funding.