World drone system: Will it be invincible in the future?


Many experts believe that drones relying on artificial intelligence may be the primary tool for achieving goals in future wars.

On July 29, 2024 local time, according to Al Jazeera, Russia and Ukraine continued to announce the shooting down of each other’s drones on a daily basis. Moscow announced the shooting down of 39 Ukrainian drones, while Kiev stated the shooting down of 9 Russian drones.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also made the society have a more intuitive understanding of the actual use effect of various new weapons, and at the same time, have a more realistic prediction of the future development of weapons.
Many experts believe that drones relying on artificial intelligence may be the main tool for achieving goals in future wars, making unmanned systems occupy an important position at the 2024 Saudi International Defense Exhibition, “Al Jazeera quoted drone expert Dennis Fedotonov as saying.

Air Force: Reduce losses, win with speed


Almost all types of fighter jets and pilots in the modern air force can be measured by the same weight of gold. How to protect one’s own safety while completing tasks has become the most concerned issue for air forces of various countries.
Drones can be seen as an ideal solution, without pilots taking risks, and the cost of drones is relatively low. With the widespread application of various unmanned aerial vehicles, air forces of various countries have begun to conceive the next generation of unmanned fighter jets.
For example, “loyal wingmen” can reduce losses.
Loyal wingman “refers to a drone that can collaborate with manned aircraft in combat, with a high degree of autonomy, completely different from other drones that perform simple flights through remote control or program settings by operators. It can be said that apart from having no pilot, “loyal wingmen” are basically no different from manned planes. After following a manned aircraft to the target area, it will perform reconnaissance, patrol, air combat, ground attack and other tasks according to the commands of the leader. During the mission, the “loyal wingman” will use artificial intelligence technology to complete autonomous flight and combat.
The biggest technical challenge for “loyal wingmen” is artificial intelligence, which means how to enable unmanned aerial vehicles to complete autonomous flight and combat based on data from onboard sensors.
In September 2023, a testing team consisting of personnel from the US Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and industry conducted the “world’s first” close air combat test over Edwards Air Force Base. An F-16 controlled by a pilot and a similarly performing fighter controlled by artificial intelligence engaged in aerial combat, fully demonstrating the application prospects of artificial intelligence in the “Loyal Companion” program.
The advantage of “loyal wingman” is that there is no need to set up a cockpit, life support system, or ejection escape system for the aircraft, and the overall design is simpler, avoiding the protruding cockpit cover from damaging the overall stealth design. And when maneuvering, there is no need to consider the pilot’s physical endurance, and the maneuverability can be increased from the current 9G to over 20G.
The most important thing is that a ‘loyal wingman’ is a weapon and equipment that can be sacrificed to eliminate enemy targets, while considering the speed of updates and replacements, the manufacturing cost can be appropriately reduced. The US Air Force plans to purchase around 1000 unmanned aerial vehicles, and without lower costs, such a fleet size is impossible to achieve.
Even though “loyal wingmen” equipped with artificial intelligence technology already have considerable autonomous combat capabilities, they still need to be intervened by operators when making major decisions such as changing attack targets or altering mission content. So it is necessary to maintain its connection with manned aircraft and rear command through data links and satellite communication systems, indicating that the overall technical level is still the foundation for “loyal wingmen” to fully exert their combat effectiveness.
The importance of the J-20S two seater stealth fighter being tested by the Chinese Air Force is highlighted precisely because it requires a manned aircraft operator to control it. Of course, it is not only fighter jets that command “loyal wingmen”. The B-21 “Raider” stealth bomber, which has just begun test flights by the US Air Force, has the function of controlling “loyal wingmen”.
Secondly, air launched ballistic missiles cannot be destroyed unless they are fast.
In recent years, the performance of air defense systems in various countries has been greatly improved, and traditional subsonic cruise missiles represented by the “Tomahawk” have become difficult to pose an effective threat to enemy deep targets.
Taking the Russia-Ukraine conflict as an example, even though the Kh-101 subsonic cruise missile launched by the Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber has a radar stealth design, a considerable number of missiles were shot down, which did not achieve the desired attack effect. At the same time, due to the slow flight speed of subsonic cruise missiles, they appear to be out of reach in striking time sensitive targets.
The “Dagger” air launched ballistic missile used by the Russian Aerospace Forces solves this problem, and the biggest feature of this missile is its fast flight speed.
In the world of martial arts, only speed is unbeatable. The end flight speed of the “Dagger” ballistic missile has exceeded 5 Mach, reaching the standard of hypersonic weapons. Even the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system, designed specifically to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles, is often helpless in the face of such fast “daggers”. Due to the short time from launch to hit of the “Dagger” air launched ballistic missile, it can capture fleeting fighter jets.
The “Dagger” is an air launched improved version of the “Iskander M” short-range tactical missile, which uses a solid rocket engine to climb the missile to a super high altitude with thin air. Most of the trajectory is at a considerable height, and due to its high altitude and fast speed, it is difficult for the enemy to effectively intercept in the middle section. The dagger will dive at a very steep angle when approaching the target. It is said that the final ballistic velocity of the “Dagger” can reach 8 Mach, and even if the air defense system can detect it, the extremely short warning time makes it impossible to implement effective interception.
At the 2022 Zhuhai China Air Show, a H-6K bomber carrying two 2PZD-21 air launched ballistic missiles made its debut, indicating that China has a considerable level of technological expertise in this area. The United States, on the other hand, seems a bit belated and is modifying the precision strike missile (PrSM) being tested to develop an air launched version to fill the gap in this field.
The phrase ‘A skilled attacker moves above the nine heavens’ explains the characteristics of the air force as an offensive military branch. How to accurately, quickly, and completely destroy targets with minimal losses is the answer that air forces of various countries are constantly pursuing.
With the advancement of technology, this problem has not become simple, but rather more complex. I believe that in the next few years, the air forces of various countries will be equipped with a large number of new fighter jets and precision guided ammunition, which will be tested through exercises and even actual combat. The cost of trial and error will be very high.

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