With the blessing of AI, the drone has become the "loyal wingman" of the fighter

Hu Sanyin painting

Long-term aircraft and wingman group operations have always been a common combat method used by fighters. With the blessing of AI, the UAV can rely on its own advantages to obey the long plane of manned aircraft and undertake the mission of "loyal wingman".

Act as the "eyes and ears" and coordinate situational awareness. When implementing over-the-horizon combat, the traditional manned-machine detection function will be decomposed into two links: unmanned wingman detection and unmanned wingman transmission of detection information to manned aircraft. Unmanned wingmans are equipped with reconnaissance payloads, or as nodes of data and communication systems, taking the lead in going out to the front of the battlefield or the depth of the target defense zone. In this process, unmanned wingmans use on-board sensors and advanced data links to continuously transmit information to long-term aircraft. Manned aircraft deployed within a relatively safe range to guide unmanned aerial vehicles to perform tasks can not only improve command flexibility, but also better implement collaborative positioning of passive radiation or active radiation targets, and enhance the situational awareness ability of manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles in coordinated task formations.

Act as a "fangs" and coordinate air superiority operations. In a complex confrontation environment, a manned aircraft can command multiple unmanned aerial vehicles at the same time to conduct coordinated air superiority operations and jointly strike air targets. The traditional tactical coordination style of long machine and wingman will evolve into a long machine remote commanding wingman and waiting for an opportunity to supplement the strike style. Manned aircraft can be loaded with autonomous modules compatible with different types of unmanned aerial vehicles, providing pilots with support such as artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making, intelligent mission planning and interactive interfaces, sharing mission pressure, so that pilots can focus on decision-making and fighters focus on execution. The drone keeps the radar silent, like a ghostly high-speed stealth to meet the enemy. When it reaches the range of its weapon, the manned aircraft opens the radar to detect the target, transmits the target information to the UAV in real time through the data link network, and directs the UAV to carry out the strike.

Act as a "fist and foot", and coordinate air strikes. When performing ground or sea surface strike or close-range fire support missions, manned machines often tie their hands and feet for safety reasons. With the unmanned aerial vehicle as a "pawn", under the premise of protecting the safety of the manned platform, the combat radius of the local machine has been expanded. Human functions can use intelligent unmanned wingmen as weapon expansion modules to control drones outside the range of enemy threats. Unmanned aerial vehicles can carry guided munitions and go deep into the front to carry out tasks such as powerful assaults, wave interceptions, cluster air superiority or enticing the enemy to fire, which invisibly increases the range of long-aircraft airborne guided weapons. Under the command of the long plane, it is accurately distributed in a reasonable position of the opposite strike, ready to be on standby, and flexible to respond to the battle.

Act as a "decoy" and coordinate electromagnetic suppression. Intelligent unmanned wingman is also promising when performing the struggle for electromagnetic power. For example, by carrying special electronic equipment and simulating the radar reflection characteristics of a fighter aircraft, the enemy's warning radar can be misjudged, and the air defense radar can be induced to start up, thereby exposing the radar frequency and position position, and providing target parameters for subsequent anti-radiation strikes. It is also possible to confuse the enemy's anti-aircraft firepower through pre-attack, so that its firepower consumption is on intercepting, searching, identifying, and tracking these false targets, so as to open up a fire gap for subsequent fighters to carry out effective surprise attacks.

The unmanned wingman has gradually moved from the concept to the battlefield, behind which is the support of the system's combat capabilities, including the intelligent upgrading of the platform system, the improvement of the battlefield network system, and the construction of the data resource system. In the future, the air combat scene may evolve into a manned aircraft leading a UAV formation, presenting a new systematic combat style of human-machine coordination.

Source: China Military Network - People's Liberation Army Daily