English news - CLADRONE

Drones in Navy Applications: Drones Boarding on Ships

The various unmanned attack boats developed by Ukraine have caused heavy losses to the Russian Navy, which has led many people to consider the application prospects of unmanned systems in the naval field. Unmanned carrier based aircraft are emerging.
The MQ-25 Stingray unmanned carrier based aircraft that the US Navy is about to equip will provide aerial refueling support for other carrier based aircraft. Not only can it avoid the embarrassment of using F/A-18E/F carrier based fighter jets for “partner refueling”, but it also reduces the requirements for carrier based pilots. The MQ-25 adopts a stealth design, which has inspired the US Navy to have it perform more tasks, such as utilizing its stealth capabilities for reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions. Due to the open architecture of the aircraft, replacing onboard equipment is relatively simple, making subsequent modifications a logical process.

The MQ-25 was only adjusted from a logistics position to a combat position, while the Chinese Navy’s Attack-11 unmanned combat aircraft is a “born warrior”. US military experts say that the Attack-11 is the world’s first unmanned aerial vehicle, and its importance is self-evident. At the Zhuhai Airshow, the Attack-11 model showcased its internal bomb bay design. The Attack-11 carrier based fighter will become an important assistant for the J-15 and J-35 carrier based fighters, performing more dangerous ground and ship attack missions and avoiding the risks of “golden” pilots.
Of course, the problem faced by the Attack-11 unmanned carrier based aircraft is the same as that of “loyal wingmen”, as their combat effectiveness is constrained by the level of artificial intelligence. Since the Attack-11 has already boarded the ship, it indicates that it has a very high level of combat capability and can fully handle it independently. It will completely change the composition and combat methods of traditional aircraft carrier based aircraft units, and its impact will be even more profound.
In addition to large unmanned carrier based aircraft such as the Attack-11, there are also multiple small unmanned aerial vehicles that have been tested on Chinese Navy aircraft carriers and destroyers. These drones basically have vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, and can perform various tasks such as reconnaissance, anti submarine, electronic warfare, communication relay, etc. depending on the onboard equipment, playing an important role at critical nodes.
The Navy’s most mysterious submarine fleet has also welcomed unmanned underwater vehicles, whose existence is even more secretive.
The US Navy is planning to equip five “Orca” super large unmanned underwater vehicles (XLUUVs), which are approximately 26 meters long, have a displacement of 80 tons, and a maximum depth of over 3300 meters. The maximum underwater speed is 8 knots, the cruising speed is 3 knots, the range exceeds 11000 kilometers, and the autonomous navigation time can last for several months.
Although the US Navy currently only intends for the “Orca” to carry out mine laying missions, in the future, it will perform tasks such as mine sweeping, electronic warfare, and underwater surveillance by replacing the payload module. If equipped with synthetic aperture radar, the “killer whale” will be able to map the seabed with extremely high concealment, which is crucial for the US submarine fleet.
The technology content of unmanned systems equipped by navies of various countries is higher, and the accompanying risks are also higher. It is difficult to avoid the situation of being confiscated by the “Dragon King”. If there is a lack of technology, even if high tuition fees are paid, it is likely to only receive a blank sheet, which is determined by the special nature of the navy.
The cost of unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned submersibles equipped by the navy will be very high, which fully conforms to the tradition of the navy’s “gold swallowing beast”.
All kinds of unmanned systems and weapons have just been put into service, showing some shock through the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and still need to be improved and perfected for a long time.
There will never be a perfect weapon, and any weapon system serves a determined combat ideology and system, integrating with each other through appropriate communication methods to truly play its role.
After the addition of unmanned systems, many existing problems will be solved, and at the same time, many new problems will arise. How to carry out higher-level integration is a test of the overall strength of the country.

Army: Drones and unmanned vehicle systems become key to attack and defense

Short videos of drones destroying heavy equipment have become popular programs on the internet, and many people believe that drones will dominate the future battlefield, and even the “useless tank theory” is once again rampant. In fact, this is a false impression caused by the lack of effective electronic warfare capabilities in both Russia and Ukraine. If one side has strong electromagnetic control, it is believed that the situation of unmanned aerial vehicles flying indiscriminately will be significantly suppressed.

Firstly, unmanned turrets are the true kings.
When it comes to unmanned combat systems, most people first think of drones. In fact, the subsystems that truly play an important role are the ground heavy equipment – unmanned turrets and remote-controlled weapon stations. The popularity of such weapon systems far exceeds that of drones.
The 2S35 “Soyuz SV” self-propelled howitzer equipped by Russia adopts an unmanned turret, with a three person crew sitting inside the vehicle. Its design represents the future direction of heavy equipment development. Developing a reliable unmanned turret requires a high level of expertise in areas such as automatic loading machines, sensors, and ammunition, which is not as simple as it seems.
The Russian Army T-14 “Armata” main battle tank is often ridiculed as a “parade weapon”, but its design – with unmanned turrets and a crew all located inside the vehicle – has become the mainstream of the new generation of main battle tanks.
The new tank concept prototype launched by the Franco German KNDS group at the European Defense Exhibition in June 2024 adopts this design. The new generation of tanks equipped with unmanned turrets can provide better protection for the fleet, reduce the overall combat weight, and carry more weapons and ammunition.
Similarly, unmanned turrets have also appeared on infantry fighting vehicles. As these turrets do not have the hanging basket of traditional manned turrets, they do not occupy a large amount of interior space, and the rotation of the turret does not affect the movement and safety of personnel inside the vehicle. They have become a favored design by weapon designers.
If the unmanned turret is further reduced, it will be the remote-controlled weapon station that we often see on various armored vehicles. This device allows soldiers to operate machine guns and automatic grenade launchers to strike enemy targets without leaving the protection of armor, and has significant practical value.
Remote controlled weapon stations are very common, not only installed on various armored vehicles, but even on the turrets of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, making them multi turret fighting vehicles.
Secondly, drones/vehicles have become versatile on the battlefield.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has made people fully realize that civilian UAVs can also join the military and can perform various tasks such as reconnaissance, attack, fire correction and so on. These small drones have also changed the combat style of small units. When approaching enemy targets, a few person combat team will release drones for reconnaissance, and then release FPV suicide drones to attack key targets. While continuing to maintain concealment, they will deliver fatal blows to important enemy targets.
Due to the outstanding performance of drones, many people have overlooked the importance of unmanned vehicles for a military.
Unmanned vehicles with manual remote control as the mainstay and autonomous control as a supplement can follow frontline infantry to carry out transportation, patrol, and combat tasks, directly enhancing the combat effectiveness of frontline troops. Unmanned vehicles can not only increase the ammunition and equipment carrying capacity of patrol teams several times, but also install heavy weapons on them, providing powerful support firepower for infantry. It can be said that unmanned vehicles will become one of the core components of future team operations.
For the army, although the addition of unmanned systems will help solve problems such as single attack methods, weak anti armor capabilities, logistical supply difficulties, and limited perception capabilities, it poses higher technical requirements. Soldiers not only need to master the use of conventional weapons, but also need to be proficient in operating various drones and unmanned vehicles, which puts heavier pressure on the rear training system.
New equipment will inevitably bring many new problems, and how to solve them depends on one’s inner cultivation.

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.