The current status and prospects of unmanned systems application on the battlefield

At the beginning of the 21st century, the deployment and use of military unmanned systems has become a decisive factor in improving the combat capabilities of developed countries. At present, unmanned systems are transitioning from the formation stage of new weapons to the strengthening stage of deployment and application.

1. Current Status of Application of Unmanned Systems on the Ground, in the Air, and at Sea

At present, most unmanned system application tasks are still tactical, and the command and control of military unmanned system swarm applications are still at the tactical level. As many countries have made a number of major breakthroughs in a series of decisive technological fields of unmanned systems, it is expected that in the next 10 to 15 years, the contribution of unmanned systems to tactical and strategic tasks will increase significantly.

Russia is gradually expanding the scope of its application of unmanned systems on the ground, at sea and in the air. Since the promulgation of Presidential Decree No. 603 on May 7, 2012, establishing the State Research and Development Center for Unmanned Systems Testing (SRjDC RT), Russia has gained new momentum in the development of unmanned systems. However, Russia as a whole is relatively lagging behind in this field, and work in the fields of intelligent chips, miniaturization technology, and intelligent technology has not yet made a complete breakthrough, and is still subject to sanctions from Western countries. Although Russia has taken a variety of countermeasures to help supportive management agencies in this field strengthen coordination and optimization of related matters, overall no breakthrough has been made.

Unmanned combat vehicles on the battlefield can support infantry or act independently

In addition to being able to autonomously assess and predict situations and optimize their actions, unmanned systems in the future will also be able to interconnect with other unmanned systems and command posts, and autonomously participate in coordinated actions around the clock under any weather and climate conditions, even when attacked by a powerful enemy. The number and application proportion of unmanned systems will also increase significantly in the future. For example, according to the US equipment development plan, in the US Army brigade, by 2030, unmanned combat vehicles will replace more than 30% of manned combat vehicles, and the combat capability of combat vehicles will increase by about three times.

2. Development Prospects of Unmanned Systems

The greatest vitality of Western countries' unmanned system combat capabilities is reflected in the aviation and aerospace fields. The United States plans to use hypersonic drones by 2030 to form an immediate response capability to complex situations. U.S. senior officials believe that from 2030 onwards, the technical and tactical capabilities of unmanned systems will be comprehensively improved according to the following development path:

First, improve the combat range and dynamic situational response capabilities of air, space, ground and sea unmanned systems, as well as the combat capabilities of emerging hybrid unmanned swarm systems in different environments.

Secondly, by 2035, the United States plans to build a high-speed automated communications network that can integrate unmanned systems into a unified information space. Due to the complexity and potential vulnerability of this field, its development will determine that the network management of unmanned systems and weapon systems will enter a new stage of overall confrontation and system confrontation.

Finally, advances in nano, biological, information and cognitive technologies will provide technical support for the creation of higher quality and newer categories of unmanned systems, including highly intelligent unmanned systems, biomechanical unmanned systems, anthropomorphic unmanned systems, unmanned aircraft, and micro-nano unmanned systems for various purposes.

3. New Directions for the Development of Unmanned Systems

The miniaturization of unmanned system technology will reduce its energy needs and expand its production and application using unconventional energy sources. Today, such creations are already underway. For example, a 10-gram satellite launched by a rocket weighing less than 1 kilogram, a Smart Dust micro ground reconnaissance vehicle ("smart dust"), and a micro drone with the size and shape of an insect.

In its program to develop micro-biological surveillance equipment, the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) implants computer nanochips into moths and beetles. After adapting them with living tissue, the insect's nervous system can be remotely controlled using nanoscale sensors, cameras and wireless transmitters implanted in the insect's body.

Beginning in the mid-2020s, advances in micro-UAVs will radically expand the ability of unmanned systems to covertly conduct special operations, including those of strategic importance, such as disrupting key elements of an enemy’s intelligence, control, communications, and life support systems.

Work is progressing on creating multifunctional nano-unmanned systems that can covertly penetrate an adversary’s automation and communications systems, as well as nano-unmanned systems that can be embedded in the bodies of individuals and social groups to undertake a wide range of missions.

The ultra-small satellites being developed can also be used as a "swarm" or "cloud" grouping, ranging in size from 10 meters to 1 kilometer. The micro-devices they receive and transmit will solve many technical tasks such as reconnaissance, communication, navigation, etc. The prospect of cluster application of unmanned system technology will also be further developed within the framework of the "network-centric" action of the force group, rather than the "network-centric" action of the unmanned system group itself.

Due to a variety of technical issues, operational risks and funding constraints, the task of fully covering the actions of swarms of unmanned systems at the strategic level by a global automatic control system is likely to be solved selectively in the second half of the 21st century.

IV. Conclusion

The multi-dimensional and large-scale application of unmanned systems technology in military struggle will promote the development of new areas, new horizons, new forms and new methods of combat, including non-military and covert areas. Unmanned systems will determine the evolution of military technology and the dialectical relationship between man and technology. With the widespread use of unmanned systems, the core elements of future wars may gradually change, from traditional battles between humans to battles between artificial intelligences (in the case of a conflict between highly developed parties), or to battles between artificial intelligences and soldiers (when one of the parties lags behind in technology).

Compiled by: Peng Chuanwei

Verification: Liang Li

Editor: Hu Zhiqiang and Jiang Song

Reviewer: Zhang Yisheng

Source: Zhihui Jerry

Content selected from: China Command and Control Society