By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The People’s Liberation Army – Air Force is fast-tracking an ambitious effort to integrate new generations of AI into its armed-drones and fighter jets in what could be seen as an effort to match US breakthrough progress in the area.
A Chinese-government-backed newspaper described what it refers to as the “intelligentization” of its Wing Loong drones with specific references to AI, “networking” and “autonomous” flight. The PRC has been long known for its interest in developing and implementing AI for military purposes, and the term “intelligentization” regarding PLA networking initiatives has been used in published Pentagon and Japanese military reports. The Global Times newspaper describes future operations of its Wing Loong drones as including “5G+,” “industrial internet,” and “artificial intelligence.”
“The intelligentization of future drones will be reflected in target recognition, situational awareness, mission planning and autonomous flight, or even intelligent maintenance,” the Global Times quotes an expert saying. The Pentagon’s 2023 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China specifies the PLA’s “intelligentization” of warfare as intended to better “network” and “integrate” data nodes across a multi-domain force.
The Chinese paper does not offer many technical specifics per say, yet AI is progressing quickly to the point wherein it can absorb, process and analyze a much greater volume of data and otherwise disparate pools of sensor information. China has a growing collection or family of Wing Loong drones spanning a wide operational envelope, to include a US Reaper or Gray Eagle type of armed drone attack. Among the more recent variants are the Wing Loong – 1E mostly made of composite materials for more endurance, speed and dwell time and a cutting edge “intercontinental” Wing Loong 3 drone unveiled last Fall.
Perhaps the most transparent element of China’s “intelligentization” of drones pertains to the extent to which it seems to mirror, or attempt to replicate, US progress in the area of AI and its application to drone operations and aerial combat power. The US Air Force has, for example, made breakthrough progress in recent years with its long-standing “Loyal Wingman” initiative wherein manned fighter jets are able to “network” data with nearby drones or even groups of drones. In recent years, a US Air Force F-22 and F-35 were able to share in-flight data with the service’s Valkyrie drone in a series of experiments. The US Air Force has also been making progress with AI-enabled computing at the “point-of-collection” designed to perform near real-time analytics on incoming sensor data, perform analyses identifying the moments of relevance, and transmitting the information across a multi-domain series of combat platforms and “nodes.”
In a large conceptual sense, China’s strategic intent closely parallels the Pentagon’s evolving JADC2 initiative, a series of interfaces, IP protocols and technical mechanisms engineered to enable joint, multi-domain, multi-service real-time data transmission to massively improve the intelligence picture and decrease sensor-to-shooter time. The entire JADC2 effort, which is now being implemented at the direction of Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, is expedited by fast evolving AI. AI can not only help secure data but accelerate processing, identification and delivery at paradigm-changing speeds across air, land, surface, space and even undersea.
The Chinese concept of weaving AI into its fleet of attack drones closely copycat’s the US approach with JADC2, as the Global Times newspaper describes the effort as an “integration” in a JADC2-like conceptual framework.
“The drones will integrate with new technologies including 5G+, industrial internet, artificial intelligence and big data, and promote more highly efficient applications in more fields together with the whole industrial chain, such as scientific investigation, mapping and logistics,” the paper writes.
Grey Eagle Rip-Off
Interestingly, the Chinese paper specifically cites the US Army Gray Eagle as a point of comparison regarding some of the desired properties of the new PLA Air Force drone.
The Gray Eagle can perform a full range of missions to include aerial surveillance as well as armed attack; the drone operates electro-optical and infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar and four HELLFIRE missiles.
“The MQ-1C Gray Eagle has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 1,633 kilograms, a fuel capacity of 261 kilograms, an internal payload capacity of 261 kilograms and an external payload capacity of 227 kilograms, with a service ceiling of 8,839.2 meters, a maximum endurance of 25 hours and speed of 309 kilometers an hour, according to the website of its maker, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems,” the Global Times says.
Unlike its predecessor the Predator, the Gray Eagle relies upon a heavy fuel engine to offer increased horsepower and improved fuel efficiency.
In terms of its external configuration, the new Chinese drone does look a lot like an Army Gray Eagle, so it would make sense that the Chinese paper cited it. However, despite its outward appearance, there is little information on the kinds of high-fidelity sensors operating on the new Chinese drone. Are its cameras both Electro-Optical and Infrared? How long is their range and what kind of image fidelity or resolution do they generate? The answers to these questions likely inform the extent to which the new Chinese drone rivals or can compete with the US Army’s Gray Eagle. Perhaps most of all, any margin of difference may reside in the kinds of computing and data processing built into the platform.
Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
