[Popular Science of Chinese Military Technology] How do data links and combat clouds support modern warfare?

At present, all the world's major military powers regard artificial intelligence as an important direction for future core military competitiveness, and continue to increase investment in scientific research funds to compete for the high ground of artificial intelligence competition. The United States has placed artificial intelligence at the core of its scientific and technological strategy to maintain its leading position as a global military power, and it is also a top priority in its "Third Offset Strategy". In fact, the United States has already achieved a great advantage in the military application of artificial intelligence. Russia has put more energy on the intelligent transformation of hard means. Based on its strong military industrial foundation, its forward-looking exploration and layout in the field of intelligent military should not be underestimated. Israel has invested a lot of manpower and funds in the research and military application of artificial intelligence technology, and its ability in the military application of artificial intelligence has been widely recognized. At present, artificial intelligence mainly plays an important role in the following four types of military application scenarios.

Figure: Rendering of Skyborg autonomous unmanned combat aircraft (Source: Baijiahao)

First, it replaces repetitive labor. For tasks that require a lot of manpower and time to complete, especially those that are predictable and have relatively fixed rules or patterns, they can usually be automated. The application of artificial intelligence technology can not only free up manpower, but also complete tasks more quickly. For example, an important report in 2015 showed that by applying artificial intelligence technology to automatically mine and analyze more than 2,200 military conflicts involving the Islamic State (ISIS), it was found that the relationship between ISIS vehicle routes and bombing attacks was not only freed up manpower, but also saved a lot of time; the U.S. military's "Maven Project" aims to use artificial intelligence technology to improve the ability to process and utilize a large number of surveillance videos taken by drones, realize automatic identification of sensitive targets, and reduce the manpower burden in this regard.

Figure: Russian "Mark" robot (Photo source: NetEase)

The second is situational awareness and real-time decision-making. The battlefield situation changes rapidly, and information comes from multiple sources and in large quantities. There are many scenarios that require commanders and operators to comprehensively analyze and judge the situation and make decisions in a short period of time. For example, when multiple enemy missiles are launched, we need to assess the possibility of being hit, and what evasion and counterattack methods are more effective; the U.S. Navy's sonar technicians identify specific sound wave signals in order to use artificial intelligence technology to automatically distinguish Russian submarines and whales from sonar signals; image analysts can use artificial intelligence technology to accurately distinguish vehicles appearing in surveillance videos in real time by labeling pictures containing civilian vehicles and armored vehicles. Not only that, artificial intelligence can also be used in scenarios such as wartime logistics force dispatch and real-time route planning during combat.

Third, work in non-ideal environments. Artificial intelligence technology can play a role in certain special spaces, such as harsh environments such as nuclear radiation, high temperature and humidity, and lack of oxygen where people cannot exist for a long time; narrow spaces that people cannot enter, such as small-diameter pipelines; and dangerous environments, such as places where there may be landmines and sea mines. There are insurmountable difficulties and dangers for people to work in these non-ideal environments. With the help of artificial intelligence technology, unmanned equipment can be used to cooperate with people to work, and even machines can work completely autonomously, improving work efficiency and safety, such as pipeline robots and mine clearance robots.

Caption: US military unmanned boat (Photo source: Baijiahao)

Fourth, unmanned systems. Major military powers have invested in the development of unmanned vehicles, drones, and unmanned boats. Unmanned systems will surely become an important combat force in future wars. Artificial intelligence can enhance the autonomy and survivability of unmanned systems, making them more powerful. Unmanned systems play two main roles in war: one is the combat capability of the unmanned system itself, and the other is the effectiveness of the coordination of multiple unmanned system formations or human-machine coordination. The "Sea Hunter" project of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency can search for quiet submarines underwater, and can automatically track them for a long time after discovery; the US Navy can quickly release a large number of small drones, carry various reconnaissance and attack payloads through adaptive networking and autonomous coordination technology, and win the battle with an overwhelming advantage in absolute numbers.

Expert profile: Weng Zongbo is a military equipment science popularization expert. He is mainly engaged in research on domestic and foreign high-tech equipment, main combat equipment of various arms, joint combat strategies and tactics, etc. He has published more than 200 articles in military newspapers and magazines such as the "People's Liberation Army Daily", "China National Defense News", and "Weapons" magazine, and has been awarded the third-class merit once.

Produced by: Popular Science of Chinese Military Technology

Author: Weng Zongbo (military science writer)

Planning: Jin He

Scientific review: Liu Xiaofeng (senior military editor)

Producer: Guangming Online Science Department