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"I want to take my pilots with me to see what the battlefield of the future will look like. ”
The U.S. Secretary of the Air Force said his goal is to lead his pilots to experience air combat on the battlefield of the future, and he will use not brand-new fighters, but AI-controlled drones.
However, can the AI-controlled fighter of the US military be competent for combat missions, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of AI-controlled fighters?
1. The AI fighter was made public for the first time.
U.S. Air Force Secretary Ferland conducts simulated air combat exercises aboard an AI fighter jet at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where his fighter jet is operated by an AI program rather than a manned pilot.
The purpose of Ferrand's trip is to show everyone what the next generation of combat aircraft will look like for the US military through personal experience.
The U.S. military plans to form a force of 1,000 AI drones, which will be airdropped by manned aircraft carrying drones, and then the drones will fly autonomously for air combat combat missions.
The U.S. military has conducted a number of simulated air combat exercises with manned aircraft and AI drones, and the results have shown that AI fighters have great potential, and sometimes they can even defeat manned pilots in air combat.
Due to the continuous expansion of AI technology, AI technology is also considered to be the most disruptive technology to the field of military aviation since stealth technology.
This plan of the U.S. military is to respond to the advanced drone technology of countries such as Russia and China, so the U.S. military hopes to re-establish the leading edge of the U.S. military in the field of drone technology through AI drones.
The performance of AI drones is outstanding, they far outperform manned warplanes, and AI drones are also capable of performing tasks that humans can't.
AI drones can also break the limitations of human pilots in air combat, AI drones can conduct over-the-horizon air combat, while human pilots cannot conduct over-the-horizon air combat, so human pilots cannot defeat AI drones.
The potential advantage of AI drones is not only this, the AI program is very fast to learn, and the program of the AI fighter can learn in a few hours a skill that a human pilot can learn for years or even decades.
The accuracy of AI fighters is also very high, and it can accurately hit enemy fighters by predicting the movement and location of enemy fighters, which is not possible for human pilots.
"For AI drones, our pilots must undergo new training so that they can get the most out of their AI drones, so that we can defeat the enemy in future wars," said U.S. Air Force Secretary Ferrand. ”
The U.S. Air Force plans to begin training pilots to operate AI drones in 2024, so that by 2028, the 1,000-drone unit will be officially operational, which will also be the largest reform in the history of the U.S. military.
2. The development of AI technology.
The development of AI technology has changed human life, so AI technology has become the hottest technology in the field of artificial intelligence, and AI technology has been applied in various fields.
AI technology can be used not only in smart speakers and smart home appliances, but also in industrial robots, medical equipment, self-driving cars, supercomputing, astronomical detection and other fields.
AI technology can also be used in the military field, since the 90s of the last century, AI technology has been gradually applied to the military field, and AI technology is also considered the most disruptive technology in the military field.
In the past 20 years, the application of AI technology in the military field has gradually deepened, and AI technology has not only been applied to automated and unmanned operations on the battlefield, but also can be applied to operational command and military intelligence.
With the deepening of AI technology in the military field, AI technology can also be applied to the air force field, and AI technology can also be applied to the automatic driving of fighters and the control of drones.
The US military is trying to apply AI technology to the maneuvering of fighter jets, which will have a profound impact on the future field of the Air Force.
Since AI fighters do not need to be controlled by human pilots, AI fighters can fly as high as they want, fly as far as they want, and fly as fast as they can.
AI fighters cannot be limited by the weight of the human body, so the maneuverability of AI fighters is far greater than that of manned fighters, and AI fighters can conduct over-the-horizon air combat.
AI fighters can also carry out supersonic cruise, AI fighters can perform hypersonic flight, and AI fighters can also fly at ultra-high altitudes above Mach 10.
The AI fighter can also carry out aircraft-to-aircraft refueling in the air, so that the AI fighter can do air patrol for a long time, and the AI fighter can also carry out long-range strikes against enemy air defense systems and enemy bases.
AI fighters can also fly in formation with autonomous drones and manned aircraft, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous combat missions such as air combat and bombing, and AI fighters can also carry out autonomous combat missions such as air penetration and air defense.
AI fighters can also carry out autonomous drone attacks and missile interception and other combat missions, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous anti-submarine and electronic countermeasures and other combat missions, and AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter ground strikes and aircraft carrier fleet combat missions.
AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter companion flights and early warning aircraft on duty and other combat missions, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter air vigilance and drone combat and other combat missions, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter aerial reconnaissance and intelligence collection and other combat missions.
AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter air interception and bomber escort and other combat missions, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter air patrol and aircraft formation flight and other combat missions, AI fighters can also carry out autonomous fighter air refueling and airdrop material and other combat missions.
3. Advantages of AI fighters.
The U.S. military's AI drone unit plan will consist of 1,000 AI drones, and the U.S. military will first put into use the first AI drone in 2028, and then the U.S. military will also invest in AI drones one after another.
With the continuous investment of AI drones, the US military will gradually form a large AI drone force, and in the future, the US military will be able to carry out large-scale air strikes and strikes against the enemy through the troops composed of AI drones.
In future wars, the U.S. military's AI drones will be mainly used to counter the enemy's advanced air defense systems, and the U.S. military will strike at the enemy's advanced air defense systems through AI drone units, so as to open up a channel for manned fighters.
The manned fighters of the US military will then enter the enemy's airspace and launch air strikes against the enemy's air defense systems and enemy fighters, thus ensuring that the manned fighters of the US military can fight freely in the enemy's airspace.
AI drones can also penetrate enemy airspace, AI drones can penetrate enemy air defense systems, AI drones can also carry out ground attacks on enemy air defense systems, and AI drones can also conduct electronic countermeasures against enemy air defense systems.
AI drones can also carry out anti-radar enemy air defense systems, AI drones can also interfere with enemy air defense systems, AI drones can also carry out targeting enemy air defense systems, and AI drones can also conduct inducing enemy air defense systems.
AI drones can also carry out virtual enemy air defense systems, AI drones can also carry out decoy enemy air defense systems, AI drones can also carry out unmanned enemy air defense systems, and AI drones can also carry out self-destructing enemy air defense systems.
AI drones can also conduct autonomous machine-to-fighter aerial confrontations, AI drones can also conduct autonomous fighter-to-missile interception, AI drones can also conduct autonomous fighter-to-drone interception, and AI drones can also conduct autonomous fighter-to-manned aircraft interception.
AI drones can also intercept bombers by autonomous fighters, AI drones can also intercept early warning aircraft by autonomous fighters, AI drones can also intercept bombers by autonomous fighters, and AI drones can also intercept early warning aircraft by autonomous fighters.
AI drones can also intercept early warning aircraft by autonomous fighters, AI drones can also intercept early warning aircraft by autonomous fighters, and AI drones can also intercept early warning aircraft by autonomous fighters.
epilogue
As the application of AI technology in the military field continues to deepen, there may be aerial confrontation between AI in the future, which will further challenge the technical level and decision-making ability of pilots.
In the future, the role of AI drones in warfare may gradually increase, and AI drones may become the main force on the battlefield, which will bring new challenges to traditional military strategies and tactics.
With the continuous development and popularization of AI technology in the military field, the international community may pay attention to and discuss the issue of arms race and arms control.
Therefore, the international community needs to regulate the application of AI technology in the military field to ensure that the application of AI technology in the military field complies with ethical and legal norms.