With the advent of the “smart +” era, artificial intelligence is widely used in the military field, and conventional warfare in physical space and cognitive confrontation in virtual space are accelerating integration. Deeply tapping the potential of artificial intelligence to empower cognitive confrontation is of great significance to improving the efficiency of cross-domain resource matching and controlling the initiative in future operations.
Data mining expands the boundaries of experience and cognition
Data-driven, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself. With the advancement of big data-related technologies, data information has become cognitive offensive and defensive ammunition, and information advantage has become increasingly important on the battlefield. Empowering traditional information processing processes with artificial intelligence technology can enhance the ability to analyze related information, accelerate information integration across domains through cross-domain data collection and false information screening, and enhance dynamic perception capabilities. Artificial intelligence can also help alleviate battlefield data overload, organically integrate enemy information, our own information, and battlefield environment information, and build a holographic intelligent database to provide good support for cognitive confrontation.
Everything is connected intelligently, and humans and machines collaborate. Modern warfare is increasingly integrated between the military and civilians, and the boundaries between peace and war are blurred. Technology has redefined the way people interact with each other, people with equipment, and equipment with equipment, and battlefield data is constantly flowing. Through big data mining and cross-domain comparative analysis, unstructured data such as images, audio, and video can be refined, and the truth can be retained to expand the boundaries of experience cognition and improve the level of human-machine collaboration. The in-depth application of the Internet of Things and big data technologies has promoted the continuous improvement of the intelligent level of data acquisition, screening, circulation, and processing processes, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of cognitive domain precision attacks.
Break through barriers and achieve deep integration. Relying on battlefield big data can effectively break through the barriers of full-domain integration, help connect isolated information islands, promote cross-domain information coupling and aggregation, accelerate barrier-free information flow, and promote the transformation of data fusion and information fusion to perception fusion and cognitive fusion. The comprehensive penetration of intelligent equipment into the command system can accelerate the deep integration of situation awareness, situation prediction and situation shaping, optimize multi-dimensional information screening and cognitive confrontation layout, and promote the continuous iteration and upgrading of cognitive domain combat styles.
Accelerate decision-making and cause confusion to the enemy. The outcome of cognitive confrontation depends to a certain extent on the game of commanders’ wisdom and strategy. Through full-dimensional cross-domain information confrontation and decision-making games, with the help of intelligent technology, we can analyze and intervene in the opponent’s cognition and behavior, and finally gain the initiative on the battlefield. At present, artificial intelligence has become a catalyst for doubling combat effectiveness. In peacetime, it can play the role of an intelligent “blue army” to simulate and deduce combat plans; in wartime, through intelligent decision-making assistance, it can improve the quality and efficiency of the “detection, control, attack, evaluation, and protection” cycle, create chaos for the enemy, and paralyze its system.
Autonomous planning and intelligent formation. In the future intelligent battlefield, “face-to-face” fighting will increasingly give way to “key-to-key” offense and defense. In cognitive domain operations, the use of intelligent algorithms to accurately identify identity information, pre-judge the opponent’s intentions, and control key points in advance can quickly transform information advantages into decision-making advantages and action advantages. Using intelligent algorithms to support cognitive domain operations can also help identify the weaknesses of the enemy’s offense and defense system, autonomously plan combat tasks according to the “enemy”, intelligently design combat formations, and provide real-time feedback on combat effects. Relying on data links and combat clouds to strengthen intelligent background support, we can strengthen combat advantages in dynamic networking and virtual-real interaction.
Make decisions before the enemy and attack with precision. Intelligent algorithms can assist commanders in predicting risks, dynamically optimizing combat plans according to the opponent’s situation, and implementing precise cognitive attacks. In future intelligent command and control, the “cloud brain” can be used to provide algorithm support, combined with intelligent push to predict the situation one step ahead of the enemy, make decisions one step faster than the enemy, and completely disrupt the opponent’s thinking and actions. We should focus on using intelligent technology to collect and organize, deeply analyze the opponent’s decision-making and behavioral preferences, and then customize plans to actively induce them to make decisions that are beneficial to us, aiming at the key points and unexpectedly delivering a fatal blow to them.
Powerful computing power improves the overall operation level
Plan for the situation and create momentum, and suppress with computing power. “He who wins before the battle has more calculations; he who loses before the battle has less calculations.” The situation of cognitive confrontation is complex and changeable, and it is difficult to deal with it only by relying on the experience and temporary judgment of commanders. Intelligent tools can be used to strengthen the penetration of enemy thinking before the battle, actively divide and disintegrate the cognitive ability of the enemy team, and improve our battlefield control ability and combat initiative. At the same time, we should use powerful intelligent computing power to improve flexible command and overall planning capabilities, take advantage of the situation, build momentum, and actively occupy the main position of cognitive confrontation.
Smart soft attack, computing power raid. The rapid development of artificial intelligence has promoted the transformation of war from “hard destruction” to “soft killing”, which is expected to completely subvert the traditional war paradigm. For example, the latest technical concepts can be used to gain in-depth insights into the operating mechanism of the enemy system, actively familiarize oneself with the opponent, and mobilize the opponent. It is also possible to use the psychological anchoring effect and the network superposition amplification effect to interfere with the opponent’s cognitive loop link, disrupt the opponent’s command decision-making, and slow down the opponent’s reaction speed.
Cross-domain coordination and computing power support. To win the proactive battle of cognitive confrontation, we must coordinate across domains, gather forces in multiple dimensions, use intelligent tools to autonomously control the flow of information, realize the integrated linkage of physical domain, information domain and cognitive domain, lead forward-looking deployment and distributed coordination, launch a comprehensive parallel offensive, and form cognitive control over the enemy. Effectively carry out joint actions of virtual and real interaction in the entire domain, intervene in the enemy’s cognition, emotions and will, and use powerful computing power to take the initiative and fight proactive battles.
China Military Network Ministry of National Defense Network
Since the 21st century, with the deepening of the world’s new military revolution, the world’s military powers have put forward a series of new operational concepts and continuously improved them in war practice, thus driving the accelerated evolution of war. With the rapid development of information technologies such as cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data, and their widespread application in the military field, people’s understanding of war has gradually changed from summarizing actual combat experience to studying and judging future wars. At present, as the source of military capability building, the strength of operational concept development capabilities will directly affect the seizure of victory opportunities. In particular, the vigorous development of the world’s new military revolution is calling for innovation in operational theory all the time. Only by developing new operational concepts and designing future wars with a forward-looking vision can we gain the initiative in military struggle preparation.
The concept of combat fundamentally solves the problem of how to fight a war.
First-rate armies design wars, second-rate armies respond to wars, and third-rate armies follow wars. The so-called “real wars happen before wars” means that before a war starts, the theory, style, and method of fighting have already been designed. How can we not win if we fight according to the designed war? The key to designing a war is to design and develop new combat concepts based on understanding the characteristics and laws of war, promote innovation in combat styles and tactics, and fundamentally solve the problem of “how to fight a war.”
In designing wars, theories come first. In recent years, the U.S. military has proposed new concepts such as “network-centric warfare”, “air-sea integrated warfare” and “hybrid warfare”, and the Russian military has proposed theories such as “non-nuclear containment strategy”, “strategic air-space campaign” and “national information security doctrine”, reflecting that the world’s military powers are vigorously studying operational theories and seizing military commanding heights. To a certain extent, operational concepts are the “organizational cells” for the formation of operational theories. Without a perfect concept generation capability, it is difficult to give birth to advanced theories. When an operational theory is proposed, it is necessary to develop relevant operational concepts so that the operational theory can be “sunk” and visualized, and better improved and transformed into military practice. When there is no operational theory concept, operational concept innovation can provide “raw materials” for the study of operational theories. The military field is the most uncertain field, and people’s understanding of war is constantly evolving. However, operational theory innovation cannot wait for the understanding to mature before starting, but needs to be based on the existing understanding, through active development and innovation of operational concepts, constructing future operational scenarios, exploring future winning mechanisms, and guiding and guiding military practice, in order to seize the initiative in war. Therefore, operational concept innovation is becoming a strategic fulcrum and lever for military construction and development.
The development of operational concepts focuses on designing core operational concepts. The core operational concept is the nucleus and embryo of the operational concept, which reflects the essential requirements of operations and contains the “genetic genes” for the growth of operational concepts. The entire concept system is derived and developed from this. At present, the understanding of the winning mechanism of informationized and intelligent warfare is becoming clearer, and it is time to focus the design of war on the development of major operational theories and key operational concepts.
Operational concept is an abstract expression of operational thinking.
The term “operational concept” originated from the US military. It is a description of how to fight in the future and is increasingly becoming an important tool for promoting the development of the military. The US Army Training and Doctrine Command Concept Development Guide points out that the operational concept is a concept, idea, and overall understanding. It is based on the inference of specific events in the combat environment. In the broadest sense, it outlines what will be done and describes how to fight in more specific measures. The US Marine Corps Combat Development Command Operations Development and Integration Directive points out that the operational concept is an expression of how to fight, used to describe future combat scenarios and how to use military art and scientific capabilities to meet future challenges. The US Air Force Operational Concept Development Directive points out that the operational concept is a conceptual description at the level of war theory, which realizes the established operational concept and intention through the orderly organization of combat capabilities and combat tasks.
In summary, the operational concept can be understood as an abstract cognition of operational ideas and action plans that is refined for specific operational problems at present or in the future. Generally speaking, the operational concept includes three parts: the first is the description of the operational problem, that is, the background of the operational concept, the operational environment, the operational opponent, etc.; the second is the description of the solution, that is, the concept connotation, application scenario, action style, winning mechanism, capability characteristics and advantages, etc.; the third is the description of capability requirements, that is, the equipment technology, basic conditions, and implementation means required to implement the operational concept. It can be seen that the operational concept should have the characteristics of pertinence, scientificity, adaptability and feasibility, and its connotation and extension will be constantly adjusted with the changes in factors such as strategic background, military policy, threat opponent, time and space environment, and capability conditions.
In a sense, operational concepts are actually transitional forms of operational theories, and their ultimate value is to guide military practice. The purpose and destination of developing new operational concepts is to tap into and enhance the combat effectiveness of the military. Only by transforming operational concepts into operational regulations and operational plans can their value be fully realized.
Innovation in combat concepts drives changes in combat styles
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the world’s military powers have, in accordance with national strategic requirements and in response to new threats and challenges, developed new operational concepts as a key means of transforming military capabilities, promoting changes in operational styles, and seeking to gain the upper hand in future battlefields. In order to further strengthen their military advantages, the world’s military powers are accelerating the introduction of a series of new operational concepts.
The US military has actively seized the opportunities brought about by scientific and technological progress, comprehensively used cutting-edge technologies such as new-generation information technology, artificial intelligence technology, unmanned autonomous technology, and proposed a series of new combat concepts such as mosaic warfare, multi-domain warfare, distributed lethality, decision-center warfare, and joint global command and control, promoting fundamental changes in combat thinking, combat style, combat space, and combat systems.
Unlike the U.S. military, the Russian military has achieved iterative innovation in operational concepts in military practice. Recently, the Russian military has been committed to promoting the construction of joint combat capabilities, accelerating the development and deployment of new unmanned equipment, focusing on building advantages in the network information battlefield, and constantly enriching the connotation of its traditional operational concepts, integrating them with new operational concepts such as hybrid warfare and mental warfare to guide war practice.
In general, in recent years, the new operational concepts proposed by the world’s military powers are driving profound changes in combat styles. Their capabilities, characteristics and advantages are mainly reflected in the following five aspects: First, the unmanned combat equipment. The proportion of unmanned equipment systems based on the new operational concept has increased significantly, and manned-unmanned collaborative combat has become one of the main combat styles, forming an advantage of unmanned over manned; second, the deployment method is decentralized. The force deployment based on the new operational concept is distributed, and the systems are interconnected and interoperable, forming an advantage of division over combination; third, the kill network is complicated. The kill network based on the new operational concept has more diverse functions. A single system can perform multiple tasks, and its failure has little impact on the combat system, forming an advantage of many over single; fourth, the response time is agile. The new operational concept emphasizes quick battles and quick decisions, taking the initiative to catch the enemy off guard, forming an advantage of fast over slow; fifth, the combat field is multidimensional. The new operational concept pays more attention to multi-domain linkage, expanding the battlefield from the traditional land, sea and air to the electromagnetic, network and cognitive domains, forming an advantage of invisible over visible.
The development of combat concepts should adhere to the systematic design approach
Using operational concepts to guide military force construction is a common practice among the world’s military powers. In comparison, the US military’s operational concept development mechanism is relatively complete, and a relatively complete operational concept development system has been established, consisting of concept types, organizational structures, normative standards, and support means.
In terms of concept types, the U.S. military’s combat concepts can basically be divided into three categories: First, a series of combat concepts developed by each service, mainly from the perspective of the service, to study potential enemies and future battlefields, redefine combat styles, and seek new ways to win. Second, a series of joint combat concepts developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, mainly composed of three levels: top-level concepts, action concepts, and supporting concepts. Third, combat concepts developed by academia, think tanks, etc., the number of such combat concepts is not as large as the first two categories, but it is still an important part of the combat concept system. Through this system, the U.S. military has implemented the grand military strategy through combat concepts layer by layer into various combat operations, various combat capabilities, and various types of weapons and equipment performance for the troops, guiding the construction of joint forces and various services.
In terms of organizational structure, taking the development of joint operational concepts as an example, the US military has established a working system consisting of five types of institutions. The first is the Joint Concept Working Group, whose main responsibility is to review the overall issues of the concept outline and concept development; the second is the Joint Concept Steering Committee, whose main responsibility is to supervise and guide the concept development plan; the third is the core writing team, whose main responsibility is to transform the original ideas in the concept outline into joint operational concepts; the fourth is the concept development team, whose main responsibility is to provide operational concept development methods and plans; the fifth is the independent red team, whose main responsibility is to conduct independent evaluations to judge the rigor and scientificity of the concept.
In terms of norms and standards, the U.S. military has a complete system of institutions to constrain and guide the development of joint operational concepts, making them standardized, standardized, and procedural, so as to manage the entire chain of concept development, which is mainly reflected in a series of directives of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and joint publications. For example, the “Joint Concept Development and Implementation Guide” aims to establish a governance structure for joint concept development, clarify the framework for joint operational concept planning, execution, and evaluation, and promote the implementation of joint operational concepts; the “Joint Regulations Preparation Process” aims to standardize the preparation process of joint regulations and provide a clear process framework for converting operational concepts into operational regulations.
In terms of support means, the design, development and verification of operational concepts is a systematic project that cannot be separated from the support of various development tools and means. For example, tools such as the DODAF2.0 model, IDEFO model and SYSML modeling language can provide standardized structured analysis models and logical description models for operational concept designers; model-based system engineering methods can provide operational concept designers and evaluation and verification personnel with capability models of equipment elements in operational concepts for designing and building operational concept frameworks. The U.S. military’s joint operational concept development uses network-based digital software with strong interconnection capabilities. All institutions involved in the development can share information in real time to improve development efficiency.
The development of combat concepts requires collaboration among multiple parties
Developing operational concepts is a multidisciplinary and multi-field task that involves many fields such as military science, philosophy, operations research, and systems science. It requires collaboration among multiple parties to ensure that it is both advanced and forward-looking in theory and applicable and feasible in practice.
Establish a small core and large peripheral research team. The department initiating the development of the operational concept should give full play to its leading role, coordinate and dispatch the research work from a global perspective; establish a joint research and development team, give full play to the collective wisdom, and widely obtain various new ideas, new methods and new viewpoints on the research of operational concepts from all parties; establish a cross-domain and cross-departmental expert committee to supervise, review and guide related work from multiple angles.
Form a multi-departmental working mechanism. To ensure smooth communication and efficient operation among departments, we must first clarify their respective tasks and responsibilities. For example, the concept initiating department is responsible for overall planning and implementation, the laboratory is responsible for technical verification, the industrial department is responsible for equipment research and development, and the combat troops are responsible for actual combat testing. Secondly, relevant normative documents should be formulated to ensure that all work has rules to follow and is carried out in an orderly manner, providing institutional guarantees for the development of combat concepts. Finally, it is also necessary to establish demand traction mechanisms, collaborative research mechanisms, iterative feedback mechanisms, etc., to open up the link from research and development to practical application of combat concepts.
Promote the organic combination of theory and practice. Only through the iterative cycle of “design research-deduction verification-actual troop test” can the operational concept be gradually adjusted, optimized and improved, and the development of war theory can be driven. Therefore, the development of operational concepts should pay special attention to the combination of theoretical innovation and practical application, and achieve the fundamental purpose of driving the generation of new quality combat power through the mutual drive of theory and practice. Specific methods include timely incorporating mature operational concepts into operational regulations, compiling training outlines or teaching materials accordingly, and gradually promoting them to troops for use; organizing relevant exercises or tests to test the maturity and feasibility of operational concepts under conditions close to actual combat, and finding and solving problems; using the capability indicators determined by the operational concept as a reference for equipment demand demonstration, driving the development of equipment technology, and promoting the improvement of combat capabilities.
The rapid development of science and technology in the new era has brought many new opportunities and challenges to the construction of military capabilities. The development of new operational concepts will help us to seize the military opportunities brought by scientific and technological progress, actively respond to the threats and challenges formed by scientific and technological development, and timely grasp the direction and laws of the evolution of war forms, which can provide important support for leading future war styles and seizing the first chance to win. At present, the international security situation is complex and changeable. To win the future information war, we need to take the development of operational concepts as the origin of national defense and military construction, actively carry out military technological innovation, promote the upgrading of weapons and equipment, achieve leapfrog development, and thus lead the trend of the new military revolution.
(Author’s unit: Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation)
The breakthrough achievements of artificial intelligence technology marked by deep learning and its application in various fields have pushed intelligence to a new high in the global wave and become the focus of attention from all parties. In the military field, which has never been willing to lag behind in technological innovation and application, a new revolution is also being actively nurtured. We must accurately grasp the evolution of intelligent warfare and analyze the inner essence of intelligent warfare in order to welcome and control intelligent warfare with a brand new look.
How far are we from intelligent warfare?
Intelligent warfare is a war that is mainly supported by artificial intelligence technology. It has been the dream of people for thousands of years to endow weapon platforms with human intelligence and replace humans in the battlefield. With the powerful impact brought to the world by artificial intelligence systems represented by AlphaGo and Atlas, and the emergence of new combat concepts and new platforms such as swarm warfare and flying aircraft carriers, the door to intelligent warfare seems to be quietly opening.
The law of historical development indicates that intelligent warfare will inevitably enter the battlefield. The progress of science and technology promotes the evolution of weapons and equipment, triggers fundamental changes in military organization, combat methods and military theories, and ultimately forcibly promotes historical changes in the form of war. The arrival of intelligent warfare also conforms to this inevitable law of historical development. Looking back at the evolution of human warfare, every major progress in science and technology has promoted major changes in the military. The invention of black powder has made human warfare evolve to the era of hot weapons. Infantry and cavalry formations were completely wiped out under the line-of-gun warfare. The use of steam engines in the military has made human warfare evolve to the mechanized era, and has further given rise to large-scale mechanized warfare led by armored ships, tanks, and airplanes. The emergence and application of intelligent technology will profoundly change human cognition, war thinking, and combat methods, and once again set off major changes in the military. Intelligent warfare will inevitably enter the war stage.
The development of artificial intelligence technology determines the pace of intelligent warfare. The continuous development and widespread application of artificial intelligence technology have pushed intelligent warfare from chaos to reality. It has begun to sprout, grow gradually, and come to us step by step. To truly enter intelligent warfare, artificial intelligence technology needs to reach four levels. The first level is computational intelligence, which means breaking through the limitations of computing power and storage space to achieve near-real-time computing power and storage capacity, which is far beyond the reach of large computers and huge servers. The widespread application of cloud computing has steadily brought humans to the first level. The second level is perceptual intelligence, which means that the machine can understand what it hears, see what it sees, distinguish what is true, and recognize what it knows clearly, and can communicate directly with people. Natural language understanding, image and graphic recognition, and biometric recognition technologies based on big data have allowed humans to reach the second level. The third level is cognitive intelligence, which means that the machine can understand human thinking, think and reason like humans, and make judgments and decisions like humans. Knowledge mining, knowledge graphs, artificial neural networks, and decision tree technologies driven by deep learning algorithms have allowed humans to strive to move towards the third level. The fourth stage is human-machine fusion enhanced intelligence, which is to combine the perception, reasoning, induction, and learning that humans are good at with the search, calculation, storage, and optimization that machines are good at, to complement each other’s advantages and interact in a two-way closed loop. Virtual reality enhancement technology, brain-like cognitive technology, and brain-like neural network technology are exploring how humans can move towards the fourth stage. When humans stepped onto the second stage, intelligent warfare began to approach us; when we step onto the fourth stage, the era of intelligent warfare will be fully opened.
Self-learning growth accelerates the sudden arrival of intelligent warfare changes. The ability to “learn” is the core ability of artificial intelligence. Once a machine can learn by itself, its learning speed is amazing. Once a machine has the ability to self-learn, it will enter a rapid growth track of “improving intelligence and accelerating evolution” repeatedly. All technical difficulties in the direction of intelligent warfare will be solved as “learning” deepens. The era of intelligent warfare is likely to arrive suddenly in a way that people can’t imagine!
What will intelligent warfare change?
Intelligent warfare will break through the limits of traditional time and space cognition. In intelligent warfare, artificial intelligence technology can collect, calculate, and push all kinds of action information of all forces in combat in real time and in all domains, enabling humans to break through the logical limits of thinking, the physiological limits of senses, and the physical limits of existence, greatly improving the scope of cognition of time and space, and being able to accurately control all actions of all forces in real time, and to achieve rapid jump, gathering, and attack of superior combat resources in multi-dimensional space and multi-dimensional domains. Any space at any time may become a time and space point for winning the war.
Intelligent warfare will reconstruct the relationship between humans and weapons and equipment. With the rapid advancement of intelligent technology and the continuous improvement of the level of intelligence, weapon platforms and combat systems can not only passively and mechanically execute human instructions, but also can, based on deep understanding and deep prediction, super-amplify through the calculation, storage, and query that machines are good at, so as to autonomously and actively perform specific tasks in a certain sense. It can be said that weapon platforms and combat systems can also actively exert human consciousness to a certain extent, even beyond the scope of human cognition, and complete combat tasks autonomously and even creatively according to specific procedures. The distinction between humans and weapons and equipment in the traditional sense has become blurred, and it is even difficult to distinguish whether it is humans or machines that are playing a role. People exclaimed that “humans and weapons and equipment will become a partnership.” Therefore, in intelligent warfare, although humans are still the most important factor in combat effectiveness, the change in the way humans and weapons and equipment are combined has enriched the connotation of combat effectiveness, and the traditional relationship between humans and weapons and equipment will also be reconstructed on this basis.
Intelligent warfare will give rise to the emergence of new combat methods. The epoch-making progress of science and technology will inevitably bring about revolutionary changes in combat methods; major progress in intelligent technology will inevitably bring about an active period of change in combat methods. On the one hand, the continuous emergence of new technologies in the fields of deep cognition, deep learning, deep neural network, etc. driven by computing, data, algorithms, and biology, as well as the cross-integration of achievements in the fields of information, biology, medicine, engineering, manufacturing, etc., will inevitably promote the emergence of new combat methods. On the other hand, the fierce confrontation between intelligent weapon platforms and combat systems will inevitably become the goal and driving force of innovative combat methods. In war, the more intelligent the parts are, the more they become the focus of confrontation. The differences in advantages in terms of space-time cognitive limits, massive information storage and computing capabilities, and neural network organization generation capabilities will bring about new areas of “blinding”, “deafening”, and “paralyzing” combat methods.
Intelligent warfare will incubate a completely new command and control method. The advantages of command and control are the focus of attention in the field of warfare, and intelligent warfare calls for a completely new command and control method. First, human-machine collaborative decision-making has become the main command and decision-making method in intelligent warfare. In previous wars, command and decision-making were all led by commanders, with technical means as auxiliary decision-making. In intelligent warfare, intelligent auxiliary decision-making systems will actively urge or urge commanders to make decisions based on new battlefield situation changes. This is because in the face of massive and rapidly changing battlefield situation information data, the human brain can no longer quickly accommodate and efficiently process it, and human senses can no longer withstand the extraordinary speed of change. In this case, decisions made solely by commanders are likely to be late and useless. Only human-machine collaborative decision-making driven by intelligent decision-making assistance systems can make up for the time and space differences and the machine-computer differences and ensure the command decision-making advantage. Second, brain neural control has become the main command control method in intelligent warfare. In previous wars, commanders issued commands to command and control troops step by step through documents, radios, and telephones in the form of documents or voice. In intelligent warfare, commanders use intelligent brain-like neurons to issue commands to troops through the neural network combat system platform, which reduces the conversion process of command expression forms, shortens the conversion time of commands across media, and is faster and more efficient. When the combat system platform is partially damaged by an attack, this command and control method can autonomously repair or reconstruct the neural network, quickly restore the main function or even all functions, and have stronger anti-attack capabilities.
How should we prepare for intelligent warfare?
In the research and exploration of intelligent warfare, we must not be content to lag behind, but must aim to win future wars and meet the challenges of intelligent warfare with a more proactive attitude, advanced concepts, and positive actions.
Use breakthroughs in intelligent technology to promote the leap in the effectiveness of intelligent combat systems. Although the development of intelligent technology has made great progress in neural network algorithms, intelligent sensing and networking technology, data mining technology, knowledge graph technology, etc., it is still in the weak intelligence stage overall and is far from reaching the advanced stage of strong intelligence. There is still broad room for development in the future. We must strengthen basic research on artificial intelligence, follow the laws of scientific and technological development, scientifically plan the direction of intelligent technology development, select technical breakthroughs, and strengthen key core technologies of artificial intelligence, especially basic research that plays a supporting role. Highlight research on key military technologies. Guided by military needs, we will develop intelligent reconnaissance and perception systems, command and control systems, weapon equipment systems, combat support systems and other weapons and equipment around key military technologies such as intelligent perception, intelligent decision-making, intelligent control, intelligent strike, and intelligent support. We will focus on military-civilian scientific and technological collaborative innovation, give full play to the advantages of civilian intelligent technology development, rely on the superior resources of the military and the local area, strengthen military-civilian strategic cooperation, build a service platform for the joint research and sharing of artificial intelligence scientific and technological achievements, the joint construction and sharing of conditions and facilities, and the joint connection of general standards between the military and the local area, and form a new situation of open, integrated, innovative and development of intelligent combat technology.
Leading innovation in combat methods with the concept of intelligent warfare. To meet the arrival of intelligent warfare, changing concepts is a prerequisite. Concepts are the forerunner of action. If our concepts remain at the traditional level, it will be difficult to adapt to the needs of intelligent warfare. Intelligent warfare has undergone profound changes in technical support, combat power, and winning mechanisms. We must first establish the concept of intelligent warfare and use it to lead the innovation of our army’s future combat methods. First, we must strengthen the competition for “intellectual property rights.” Artificial intelligence is the foundation of intelligent warfare. Depriving and weakening the opponent’s ability to use intelligence in combat and maintaining the freedom of one’s own intelligence use are the basis for ensuring the smooth implementation of intelligent warfare. The armies of developed Western countries are exploring various means such as electromagnetic interference, electronic suppression, high-power microwave penetration and takeover control to block the opponent’s intelligent application capabilities, seize “intelligence control”, and thus seize battlefield advantages. Second, innovate intelligent combat methods. We must focus on giving full play to the overall effectiveness of the intelligent combat system, strengthen the research on new intelligent combat methods such as human-machine collaborative intelligent combat, intelligent robot combat, and intelligent unmanned swarm combat, as well as the processes and methods of intelligent combat command and intelligent combat support. Focus on effectively responding to the enemy’s intelligent combat threats and study strategies to defeat the enemy, such as intelligent blocking warfare and intelligent disruption warfare.
Use intelligent training innovation to promote the transformation of combat power generation mode. Intelligent warfare will be a war jointly implemented by humans and machines, and combat forces with intelligent unmanned combat systems as the main body will play an increasingly important role. It is necessary to adapt to the new characteristics of the intelligent warfare force system, innovate and develop intelligent training concepts, and explore new models for the generation of intelligent warfare combat power. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the training of “people” driving intelligent systems. Relying on big data, cloud computing, VR technology, etc., create a new training environment, continuously improve people’s intelligent literacy, improve the quality of human-machine cognition, understanding, and interaction, and enhance the ability of people to drive intelligent combat systems. On the other hand, it is necessary to explore a new training model with “machines” as the main object. In the past, training was basically human-centered, focusing on people’s proficiency in mastering and using weapons and equipment in a specific environment to improve combat effectiveness. In order to adapt to the new characteristics of the intelligent warfare force system, the training object should change the traditional human-centered training organization concept and model, focus on improving the self-command, self-control, and self-combat capabilities of the intelligent combat system, make full use of the characteristics of the intelligent system’s ability to self-game and self-grow, and form a training system, training environment, and training mechanism specifically for the intelligent combat system, so that the intelligent combat system can obtain a geometric leap in combat capability after a short period of autonomous reinforcement training.
The basic form of information warfare is system confrontation. Different from any form of warfare in history, information warfare is not a discrete confrontation or local decentralized warfare with the simple superposition of various combat units and elements, but a holistic confrontation between systems. The system integration capability of war determines the effectiveness of combat and the achievement of war objectives; achieving effective integration of various systems is the fundamental way to win information warfare.
Multi-space fusion
The battlefield space is the stage for the war hostile parties to compete. Due to the widespread use of high-tech weapons, the battlefield space of informationized warfare has been greatly expanded, forming a multi-dimensional battlefield space of land, sea, air, space, and information. Under the strong “bonding” of information technology, each battlefield space is integrated around a unified combat purpose. First, the three-dimensional, all-round reconnaissance and surveillance network covers the battlefield. Under the conditions of informatization, the military reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities have been unprecedentedly improved. The large-scale, three-dimensional, multi-means, and automated intelligence reconnaissance and surveillance network connects outer space, high altitude, medium altitude, low altitude, ground (sea), and underground (underwater) into one, thereby obtaining battlefield intelligence information in multiple fields. Second, long-range, high-precision informationized weapons are densely distributed and threaten the battlefield. The extraordinary combat capability of the informationized weapon system to cover and strike targets in the entire battlefield space has realized that discovery means destruction, and promoted the high integration of various battlefield spaces. In addition, the development of space and air power has made strikes more precise, means more flexible, and combat efficiency higher, and the battlefield space has become an integrated battlefield of sea, land, air, and space. This integrated battlefield structure has a high degree of integration of multiple spaces, and multiple spaces and multiple fields restrict each other. Third, the battlefield is restricted by electromagnetic and information competition in all time and space and throughout the entire process. The development of military information technology not only realizes the integration of tangible battlefields on land, sea, air and space through reconnaissance and strikes, but also opens up the competition for invisible battlefields in the electromagnetic and information fields. Electromagnetic and information are the soul of informationized warfare and the link between the battlefields on land, sea, air and space. They exist in the entire time and space of combat, act on all elements of war, run through the entire process of combat, and deeply affect the tangible battlefields on land, sea, air and space.
It can be seen that the informationized battlefield is precisely through the increasingly mature information technology, centering on the purpose of war and combat needs, closely integrating the multi-dimensional space of land, sea, air, space, information, etc., forming an inseparable and interdependent organic unity. Leaving any dimension of the battlefield space, or losing control of any dimension, will directly affect the overall combat effectiveness, thus leading to the failure of the war.
Fusion of multiple forces
War power is the protagonist of the battle between the two opposing sides of a war. The “integrated joint combat force” of system integration is a prominent feature of information warfare. Various participating forces in information warfare are highly integrated. Regardless of their affiliation and combat mission, they will be equal users and resources of the entire combat system and integrated into a unified large system. First, the participating forces are united. Information warfare is a joint operation in which the army, navy, air force, aerospace, special operations, information operations and other forces participate. Each participating force has advantages that other participating forces do not have or cannot replace. They communicate and connect through information technology to achieve “seamless connection” and form a force system that can play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses and complement each other’s advantages, becoming an organic whole that combines “soft” strike and “hard” destruction capabilities, combat and support capabilities, mobility and assault capabilities, and attack and defense capabilities. Second, the participants are diversified. With the development of information networks, wars in the information age no longer have a distinction between the front and the rear, and the networking of combat systems can also make home a “battlefield”. In the industrial age, wars were “over, go home”; in the information age, wars can also be “go home and fight”. Participants in war are not limited to the military forces of countries and political groups. Non-governmental and group-based people can join the “battlefield” as long as they have high-tech knowledge and are proficient in computer applications. Third, the support force is socialized. With the development of science and technology, the mutual tolerance, intercommunication and compatibility of military and civilian technologies have been greatly enhanced. A large number of combat facilities and platforms will rely more on local basic resources. Not only does the material support in combat need to be socialized, but also the technical support and information support need to be socialized.
It can be seen that the victory or defeat of the informationized battlefield depends on the overall strength of the warring parties. Various combat forces are both interrelated and mutually influential, but any single force is difficult to determine the outcome of the war. Only when multiple forces work closely together and learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses can the overall combat system benefits be brought into play and victory be ultimately achieved.
Multi-level integration
The war level is the pattern of the war between the two hostile parties. In information warfare, the distinction between strategy, campaign and battle is no longer as clear as in traditional warfare. Instead, there is a mutual integration of you and me, and the distinction between levels has become relatively vague. First, the war path is simplified. With the centralized use of a large number of informationized weapons and equipment and their information systems, the precision strike capability of the troops has been unprecedentedly improved. A small-scale combat operation and a high-efficiency information offensive operation can effectively achieve certain strategic goals. A battle, a campaign or a carefully planned information operation may be a war. The path to achieve the purpose of war is becoming simpler and the convergence of war, campaign and even battle in purpose and time and space is prominent. Second, command and control is real-time. The widespread use of automated command and control systems on the battlefield has greatly enhanced the command and control function. Campaign commanders and even the highest political and military leadership of the country can plan and command and control all participating forces and specific combat operations in a unified manner, and directly intervene in campaigns, battles and even the actions of individual soldiers or combat platforms in near real time. Combat and campaign operations are similar to strategic engagements. Third, the combat process is fast-tracked. Quick victory and quick decision are important features of information warfare. The combat time is showing a trend of shortening. There is no concept of time for all combat operations. More often, the participating forces at all levels are carried out simultaneously in different fields. The beginning and the end are closely linked. The combat operations in various battlefield spaces penetrate each other, are closely linked, and gradually merge into an integrated and coordinated system, which is difficult to distinguish at the level.
It can be seen that information warfare has a strong overall nature. Campaigns, as a bridge for achieving strategic and even war objectives, are gradually integrated into battles. Combat, as the most basic combat activity in war, is also gradually sublimated into strategies and campaigns. All levels are intertwined and serve to achieve the purpose of war. Only by comprehensively exerting the combat capabilities of all levels and achieving overall effects can we seize the initiative in the war.
Fusion of various styles
The combat style is the carrier for the war hostile parties to compete. Informationized warfare is a process of confrontation between multiple forces and multiple fields, and is manifested in multiple combat actions and confrontation styles. Various combat actions are inseparable from the overall combat situation, and various actions are closely linked, mutually conditional, coordinated, and integrated to form an overall combat power. The first is the unity of combat actions. The victory or defeat of informationized warfare is the result of the system confrontation between the two warring parties. Isolated and single combat actions are often difficult to work. This requires multiple military services to adopt a variety of combat styles in different combat spaces and combat fields, while the combat style dominated by a single military service can only “live” in the overall joint action as a sub-combat action, and all combat actions are unified in the system confrontation. The second is the integration of combat actions. Informationized warfare is a form of war that pursues high efficiency. Objectively, it requires that multiple combat styles and actions must be highly “integrated” from the perspective of system effectiveness. Comprehensively use a variety of combat styles and tactics, combine tangible combat actions with intangible combat actions, combine non-linear combat with non-contact combat and asymmetric combat, combine psychological warfare with public opinion warfare and legal warfare, combine regular combat with irregular combat, and combine soft strikes with hard destruction to form an overall advantage. The third is the mutation of combat actions. In information warfare, while integrating various combat resources and exerting overall power, both hostile parties strive to find the “center of gravity” and “joint points” of the other side. Once the enemy’s weak points are found, all combat forces and actions are linked as a whole and autonomously coordinated, and various styles and means of destruction are adopted to cause a sudden change in the enemy’s combat capability and a comprehensive “collapse” of the combat system, so as to achieve combat initiative and advantage.
It can be seen that information warfare is a practical activity in which various forces use a variety of combat styles and means to compete in multiple battlefield spaces and combat fields. Only when multiple combat styles and means cooperate, support and complement each other can a multiplier effect be produced, thereby exerting the maximum combat effectiveness of the entire system.
Multi-method integration
The means of war are methods used to achieve the purpose of war. In addition to powerful military means, information warfare must also use all available ways and means to cooperate with each other, organically integrate, and form a whole to achieve a favorable situation. First, the use of war means is comprehensive. All wars have a distinct political nature and serve certain political purposes. With the influence of factors such as the globalization of the world economy and the multipolarization of international politics, information warfare is more based on military means, and military means are used in combination with various means such as economy, diplomacy, culture, and technology. Second, the use of war means is gradient. With the development of the times, war as a means of maintaining and seeking power and interests has been increasingly restricted by international law and international public opinion. In addition, resorting to war requires a high price. Therefore, in the information age, the use of war means presents a gradual development gradient, usually starting from retaliation, display of force, and violent retaliation (strike) in the sense of international law, and finally developing into local or even large-scale wars. Third, the use of war means is systematic. Information warfare is a contest of the comprehensive national strength of the hostile parties. The victory of the war depends on the comprehensive and systematic use of various war means. In specific combat operations, various means of warfare have different functions and natures, occupying different positions and playing different roles in the war. Only by closely combining various effective means of warfare into an organic whole can we form a combat system that fully utilizes our strengths and avoids our weaknesses, and maximize the overall combat effectiveness.
It can be seen that information warfare is subject to more restrictive factors, simpler war objectives, and newer combat styles. In the process of decision-making and action, only by coordinating and integrating with struggle actions in other fields such as politics, economy, culture, and diplomacy can the overall goal of the war be achieved efficiently.
In mid-July 2021 World Internet of Things Expo held a press conference and revealed that the expo is scheduled to be held in Wuxi in early September. At that time, the expo will be themed “Intelligently Connecting Everything and Leading the Future with Digital”, focusing on showcasing the latest achievements in the global Internet of Things field.
The Internet of Things is changing people’s daily lives, quietly changing the form of modern warfare, and promoting the development of intelligent warfare.
Professor Chen Yingwen from the National University of Defense Technology tells you about the military Internet of Things——
Everything is connected, winning thousands of miles away
■Feng Zijian, Qu Shenghui, Qi Xucong
Schematic diagram of military Internet of Things technology simulation.
A “bridge” connecting the virtual world and the real world
The so-called Internet of Things can be simply understood as an Internet that connects everything. If the Internet is a “dialogue” in the virtual world, then the Internet of Things is a “bridge” connecting the virtual world and the real world.
The application of the Internet of Things had already appeared in wars under the name of “sensor networks” more than half a century before it attracted people’s attention.
In the 1960s, the “Ho Chi Minh Trail” on the Vietnam battlefield was covered with tens of thousands of “tropical tree” vibration sensors. These sensors are like a dense “spider web”, waiting for the “prey” to arrive. Whenever a person or vehicle passes by, the sensor detects the vibration generated by the target and records data such as its direction and speed.
At this time, tens of thousands of kilometers away, in an infiltration surveillance center code-named “Task Force Alpha”, US military technicians were receiving and processing relevant information sent back by the “sensor network”. Once a Vietnamese military convoy was discovered passing by, the command center would send instructions to the US troops stationed in Vietnam, instructing fighter planes to fly over the target and carry out bombing.
Due to the limited technology at the time, the sensors could only work for a few weeks. The “spider web” carefully built by the US military ultimately failed to prevent the Vietnamese army from transporting troops and supplies.
Although this “cooperative” combat method between humans and objects did not achieve any good results in history, it has prompted Western countries led by the United States to conduct in-depth research on Internet technology and continuously explore the interconnection between humans and objects, and objects and objects. Its highly informationized advantages are highlighted in many areas of military applications.
After decades of development, some military powers have successively developed a series of military sensor network systems, including the “Smart Dust” system for collecting battlefield information, the “Lumbas” system for remotely monitoring the battlefield environment, the “Sand Straight Line” system for monitoring the movement of weapon platforms, and the “Wolf Pack” system specifically for detecting electromagnetic signals.
Among them, the detection element of the “smart dust” system is only the size of a grain of sand, but it can realize all functions such as information collection, processing and sending, thereby enhancing the ability to control information during combat.
No combat entity will become an “island”
In the world of the Internet of Things, every grain of “sand” will have its network address. For the military Internet of Things, no operational entity will become an “island”.
During the first Gulf War, many weapons and equipment transported by the US military could not be found, resulting in a large waste of war resources. The reason is that the containers transporting weapons and equipment were not clearly marked, and personnel were unable to track the location of the transported weapons and equipment, which led to the loss of a large number of weapons and equipment.
Twelve years later, during the Iraq War, the US military installed radio frequency microchips on every container shipped to the Gulf region, and placed readers and writers according to transportation and storage needs, thereby achieving full tracking of personnel, equipment, and materials, greatly improving the effectiveness of military logistics support.
Foreign research data revealed that compared with the Gulf War, the Iraq War’s sea transport volume decreased by 87%, air transport volume decreased by 88.6%, combat equipment reserves decreased by 75%, and strategic support equipment mobilization decreased by 89%.
In fact, from the moment the electronic tags are attached and the sensing systems are installed, the originally silent equipment becomes like an organic life form that can sense and communicate with each other. Through the transformation of the Internet of Things technology, each combat entity such as combat personnel and combat equipment has become a “network node”. Through perception and communication with each other, the battlefield situation is clearer and combat operations are more efficient.
Take the personnel assessment network established by the Australian Department of Defense as an example: during combat, commanders can assess the physical functions and conditions of soldiers through sensors worn by soldiers, and then combine them with satellite positioning information to obtain the physical function status of all personnel. Commanders can use this as a basis for allocating troops, which can greatly improve the efficiency of battlefield decision-making.
Military IoT technology will play a big role in future battlefields
In today’s world, there are more and more similar military news——
In June 2016, the US military launched an airstrike using drones, killing 16 Taliban members; in September of the same year, Turkish security forces killed 6 terrorists under the guidance of their domestically produced drones.
In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Middle East in 2020, a video released by Azerbaijan made many people feel the power of networked and intelligent weapons: after the drone discovered the enemy tank, it aimed and fired…
From sensing the battlefield situation to locking onto the target and then launching an attack on the target, the reason behind unmanned equipment becoming the main offensive entity is the huge support of military Internet of Things technology. This huge intelligent information network is like the “clairvoyance” and “super hearing” on the battlefield, allowing combat personnel to sit firmly in the “central military camp” and win the battle thousands of miles away.
“Everything is connected, and victory can be won thousands of miles away.” This is the development trend of military Internet of Things technology and an important feature of future intelligent warfare. In the era of the Internet of Everything, the military Internet of Things will connect several individual combat entities into intelligent combat groups and generate a smart combat system. In the future, it will only be necessary to give the smart combat system clear combat objectives, and military combat personnel will not have to participate in its execution process.
At present, the development of military Internet of Things technology still has a long way to go before it can realize the Internet of Everything, but we should be aware that when smart nodes reach a certain scale, the military Internet of Things will achieve a qualitative leap.
In future battlefields, military Internet of Things technology will surely play a big role in achieving victory through “connection”.
Wars in different eras have different characteristics, and the “fog of war” that accompanies them is constantly changing. Often when people feel that they have basically seen the way to win through multi-faceted exploration, the next war presents new uncertainties. Local wars such as the Syrian War and the India-Azerbaijan conflict have demonstrated the multifaceted and complex nature of modern warfare from different perspectives. It can be seen that although traditional firepower warfare is still on the stage, the characteristics of intelligence have already emerged; although the combat type is still an offensive and defensive struggle, the combat guidance, environmental conditions, and specific methods of play have undergone profound changes. Wars are accelerating their evolution towards intelligence. The battlefield space has expanded from land, sea, air, space, electricity, and the Internet to space, polar regions, deep sea, and cognitive confrontations. The game competition has changed from military confrontation to multi-dimensional competitions such as politics, economy, science and technology, and public opinion. The participating forces have developed from the two warring parties to global attention and multi-dimensional intervention. Information intelligence has moved from auxiliary support to comprehensive dominance, full penetration, and full coverage. The combat unit has evolved from scale optimization to small, micro, and sophisticated, and the form is scattered and capable. Intelligence and hybrid have become basic trends. In the face of evolving wars and new uncertainties, we need to be sensitive to change and respond proactively, accumulate momentum and forge ahead in the midst of change, so as to achieve leadership and surpass others and seize the opportunity to win.
Enhance the hybrid nature of war based on the “pan-variability”. War is the continuation of politics and has never been a simple military confrontation. In the era of intelligence, visible struggles and invisible struggles coexist, battlefields with gunpowder smoke and silent battles coexist, and gray areas, hybrid warfare, and marginal conflicts coexist. In the face of fierce and complex competitive game situations, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of a hybrid warfare system with military as the cornerstone. First, enrich strategic options. Closely follow the characteristics of the times, strengthen the exploration of the characteristics and laws of non-military confrontation and the construction of power means, implement relevant preparations, and form comprehensive advantages. Secondly, enhance invisible strength. Attach importance to geopolitical, cultural, psychological and other aspects of research, and form an effective discourse system through think tank exchanges, academic promotion, cultural integration, legal construction, media propaganda and other means to influence the other party’s cognition in a silent way. Thirdly, unite the forces of peace. Take the construction of a united front in the new era as an important means of hybrid confrontation, unite all forces that can be united, and enhance international influence and appeal.
Enhance the flexibility of tactics based on the “smart change” of the battlefield. Looking at recent local wars and conflicts, due to factors such as the regional dimension and the strength of both sides, the traces of traditional warfare are still relatively obvious, but intelligent and unmanned warfare has irreversibly come to the fore. It can be foreseen that comprehensive intelligent warfare is not far away, the extension range of weapons and equipment will be farther and wider, the combat perspectives of the opposing sides will be larger and wider, and the degree of hinge fusion between the physical domain, network domain, and cognitive domain will be deeper. The battlefield with deep “smart change” calls for concepts and tactics that are adapted to it. We should accelerate the promotion of intelligent thinking, intelligent technology, and intelligent network aggregation and empowerment to form a flexible closed link with fast perception, fast decision-making, fast judgment, fast action, and fast feedback, based on “OODA” and the kill chain to beat the slow with the fast and change with change. Relying on intelligent computing power and intelligent algorithms, we design wars in advance, build various models, and innovate tactics and training methods in peacetime. In wartime, we analyze the battle situation in real time, keenly seize opportunities, and make precise decisions and actions. We use “military + technology”, “theory + experiment”, and “algorithm + tactics” to integrate the art of strategy with intelligent technology to achieve a combination of the strange and the orthodox, take the lead in rapid changes, and win by intelligence.
Enhance the plasticity of forces based on the “micro-change” of units. One of the important characteristics of modern warfare is that large systems support elite combat, and combat units are becoming increasingly miniaturized, integrated, and modular. We must focus on the combat unit, the end of combat effectiveness, and forge a “sharp knife” and “sharp blade” that is small, fine, micro, and strong to adapt to intelligent warfare. On the one hand, strengthen its ability to integrate into the system and connect all parties, rely on ubiquitous access to information networks, and achieve decentralized combat and energy concentration through flexible matching and rapid reorganization; on the other hand, strengthen its independent decision-making and improvisation capabilities, improve robustness and self-recovery, and be able to survive, respond to emergencies, and fight in extreme situations. It is possible to explore the formation of a “micro-unit” concept force, implement a flexible organization, do not fix the number of personnel, and do not restrict the field. Advanced combat theories, new combat formations, and new weapons and equipment can be tested and verified in advance, so as to explore ways to achieve cloud combat, cloud joint, cloud energy gathering, and self-combination at the end of the strike chain.
Enhance strategic bottom line based on deterrence “evolution”. Deterrence has a long history like war. With the in-depth application of intelligent technology and weapons and equipment, the connotation and extension, force means, form and effect of deterrence are changing. Although traditional nuclear deterrence is still the cornerstone of bottom line, new deterrence capabilities have been quietly formed, requiring higher determination, strength, wisdom, and strategy. Focusing on the role of deterrence in blocking the enemy invisibly in peacetime, controlling the situation at the key in times of crisis, and winning the final victory in wartime, we should focus on strengthening the strong and making up for the weak, opening up new areas, and long-term strategy to maximize the strategic value of deterrence. First, we should give equal importance to conventional and unconventional, accelerate the development of new weapons and new forces, and achieve the predetermined deterrence intention through actual combat training and actual combat deployment, supplemented by the expression and transmission of strategic will. Secondly, we should continue to study new combat concepts and new combat theories, and promote the transformation of theories from “soft” to “hard” through academic exchanges, think tank collisions, and multi-track and multi-layer confrontations, and transform them into real deterrence. Thirdly, accelerate the transformation of science and technology into the military field, increase research efforts in cloud computing, blockchain, quantum technology, etc., and strive to form a potential deterrent to opponents.
National Defense University Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee is a very important meeting held at a critical period of comprehensively promoting the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization. It focuses on studying and deploying the issues of further comprehensively deepening reform and promoting Chinese-style modernization, and makes strategic deployments for continuously deepening national defense and military reforms, drawing a blueprint for the new journey of relaying reforms to strengthen the military and constantly creating a new situation in national defense and military modernization. All levels of the military should earnestly study and implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, unify their thoughts, wills and actions, and thoroughly implement the strategy of reforming and strengthening the military, so as to provide strong guarantees for achieving the goal of building the army for 100 years as scheduled and basically realizing national defense and military modernization.
Reform is a key move in designing and shaping the future of the military
Reform and opening up are the most prominent features and the most magnificent aura of contemporary China. The military field is the field with the most intense competition and confrontation, and it is also the field with the most innovative vitality and the most need for reform and innovation. Whether a military can possess an unremitting spirit of reform and a pioneering and enterprising spirit of innovation is an important indicator of its ability to win. Deepening the reform of national defense and the military is the only way to strengthen the military. The driving force for strengthening the military lies in reform, the way out lies in reform, and the future also lies in reform.
The strength of the People’s Army comes from reform and innovation, and the victory of the People’s Army comes from reform and innovation. The history of the growth and development of the People’s Army is a history of reform and innovation. From the establishment of a complete set of principles and systems for building the army under the absolute leadership of the Party during the Agrarian Revolution, to the implementation of the policy of streamlining the military during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression; from the establishment of five major field armies during the War of Liberation, to the repeated adjustments to the system and organization after the founding of New China, to the massive reduction of millions of troops in the new era of reform and opening up and socialist modernization… The People’s Army has been fighting and reforming, building and reforming, and has become stronger and stronger. From the “Sixteen-Character Formula” of the Red Army period, to the “Protracted War” of the Anti-Japanese War, from the “Ten Military Principles” of the Liberation War, to the “piecemeal” of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, to the continuous adjustment of military strategic policies after the founding of New China… The People’s Army learned war from war, explored laws from practice, and wrote a vivid chapter of continuous innovation in the art of war leadership in the history of world military. Along the way, reform and innovation have always been an important magic weapon for our army to grow from small to large, from weak to strong, and continuously from victory to victory. Deepening the reform of national defense and the military is the requirement of the times to realize the Chinese Dream and the dream of a strong military, the only way to strengthen the military, and a key move to determine the future of the military. At present, it is a period of hard struggle to achieve the goal of building the army for 100 years. In order to defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests with stronger capabilities and more reliable means, and to provide strategic support for comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, it is necessary to continue to deepen the reform of national defense and the military.
Only reformers can make progress, and only innovators can become strong. President Xi Jinping stressed that “the new military revolution has provided us with a golden opportunity. We must seize the opportunity and work hard to not only keep up with the trend and the times, but also strive to be at the forefront of the times.” In today’s world, the new military revolution is surging, the intelligent warfare form is gradually showing its true face in the practice of war, and the new military technology and weapons and equipment system are further affecting the rules of war. All these require us to maintain a keen sense of reform and cutting-edge innovative thinking, base ourselves on the actual development of our army, focus on the needs of preparing for war, think deeply about the new force structure and winning logic necessary to win modern wars, rely on reform to continuously optimize the military system, improve the effectiveness of military governance in line with actual combat requirements, and go all out to fight a tough battle to achieve the goal of building the army for the centenary.
Comprehensively deepening reform has achieved great changes in the People’s Army in the new era
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core has, with great political courage and wisdom, pushed forward the theory and practice of reform of socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new breadth and depth. In the new era and new journey, we must insist on deepening reform to gain creativity, cohesion and combat effectiveness, and insist on the unchanged direction, unswerving path and unreduced efforts, and continuously push forward the modernization of national defense and the army with better strategies, higher efficiency and faster speed, and resolutely complete the mission and tasks of the new era entrusted by the Party and the people.
Grasp the overall changes in deepening national defense and military reforms. Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the People’s Army has adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Army, and taken the Party’s goal of strengthening the army in the new era as its guide. It has comprehensively implemented the strategy of reform and strengthening the army, and has thoroughly resolved the institutional obstacles, structural contradictions, and policy issues that have long constrained national defense and army building, promoted the reform of the leadership and command system, the reform of the scale structure and force composition, and the reform of military policies and systems, and achieved historic achievements in deepening the reform of national defense and the army. The People’s Army has achieved an overall revolutionary reshaping; the new system, structure, pattern, and appearance have made our army’s winning advantage more prominent, its innovative vitality continuously released, and its morale more uplifting. Practice has fully proved that as long as we unswervingly continue to deepen the reform of national defense and the military, we will be able to create a new situation in the modernization of national defense and the military.
Adhere to the ideological guidance of deepening the reform of national defense and the military. President Xi’s series of important strategic thoughts on deepening the reform of national defense and the military, which are directional, fundamental, and overall, have profoundly clarified the contemporary significance, essential attributes, fundamental guidance, goals and tasks, core requirements, important directions, strategic measures, and scientific methods of deepening the reform of national defense and the military. To carry out the reform of national defense and the military to the end, we must adhere to Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military as the general guidance and general compliance, and consistently use Xi Jinping’s Thought on Strengthening the Military to arm the minds of officers and soldiers, further unify thoughts, deepen understanding, and use it to guide reform practice, further work on resolving deep-seated contradictions and problems, promote the implementation of reform arrangements, and realize the determination and intentions of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and President Xi at a high standard.
Advancing national defense and military modernization requires continued reform
President Xi stressed: “On the road ahead, the People’s Army must be brave in reform and good at innovation, and never become rigid or stagnant at any time or under any circumstances.” The People’s Army is a strong backing for national security. The deeper the reform goes, the more it must take responsibility, move forward steadily and courageously, and there must be no slackness or rest. It is necessary to continue to deepen the reform of national defense and the army to provide security guarantees and strategic support for comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization.
The cause of strengthening the military is inspiring, and the goal of strengthening the military inspires fighting spirit. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made strategic arrangements for deepening the implementation of the strategy of reform and strengthening the military. This is not only a call to action for continued reform and attack, but also a drumbeat for determination to strengthen the military. We must focus our efforts on implementing the strategy of reform and strengthening the military, and continuously push forward the cause of strengthening the military in the new era. The mission is imminent, and the goal calls. The goal of strengthening the military depicts the goal map, roadmap and development map for strengthening and revitalizing the military. It is the soul and main line that runs through the deepening of national defense and military reform. The promotion of reform must not deviate from the goal of strengthening the military for a moment or a single moment. The goal of strengthening the military must always be used to measure, regulate and correct, providing a strong impetus for advancing the modernization of national defense and the military.
A strong country must have a strong military, and a strong military must reform. National defense and military modernization are important components of China’s modernization. Further deepening reform and promoting China’s modernization will inevitably put forward new and higher requirements for deepening national defense and military reform. On the one hand, with the increase in the breadth and depth of the practice of China’s modernization, the new progress of comprehensively deepening reform requires our military construction to accelerate and build high quality in improving quality and efficiency. We must uphold the core position of innovation in our military construction and promote national defense and military modernization through reform and innovation. On the other hand, with the practice of modern warfare, especially the militarization of artificial intelligence, the profound changes in the internal mechanism of war and the mode of winning, etc., all require national defense and military reform to seize the opportunity and act in response to the times, and make greater efforts to enhance our military’s joint combat capability based on the network information system and the all-domain combat capability. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee made major strategic arrangements around the continued deepening of national defense and military reforms, and proposed a number of important reform measures involving the optimization and adjustment of systems, mechanisms, and institutions, which are highly contemporary, forward-looking, and targeted. All levels of the military must earnestly study and implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, focus on improving the leadership and management system and mechanism of the People’s Army, deepen the reform of the joint combat system, deepen cross-military and local reforms, and constantly create a new situation in strengthening and revitalizing the army.
We should follow the general trend of reform and gather strong forces. To thoroughly implement the strategy of reform and strengthening the military, we need unity of purpose and unity of purpose. We should persist in using the Party’s innovative theories to unite our hearts and minds and strengthen our foundations, arm our heads with Xi Jinping’s thoughts on strengthening the military, unify our thoughts and actions with the decisions of the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Xi, and take on the responsibility of thoroughly implementing the strategy of reform and strengthening the military with a high degree of historical consciousness and a strong sense of mission, further consolidate the consensus on reform, strengthen the will to reform, and enhance the confidence in reform. We should focus on summarizing and applying the successful experience of national defense and military reform, deeply grasp the characteristics and laws of reform and strengthening the military, use reform to solve the problems encountered in development, and continuously promote the modernization of national defense and the military to break through obstacles. Party members and cadres in the military, especially leading cadres, must be good promoters and doers of reform, take the lead in tackling tough problems with practical actions, work hard and fast, and make great strides forward in the journey of building a world-class military in an all-round way.
It is easy to break the “fog” of the battlefield, but it is difficult to break the “obsession” in your heart——
Since ancient times, achieving surprise through combat deception has been an important way to win on the battlefield. Entering the era of intelligence, the in-depth application of artificial intelligence technology has not only clearly dispelled the original war “fog”, but also created a large amount of new war “fog”. If we only rely on improving deception techniques and means, and simply superimposing and strengthening the traditional deception paradigm, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve the deception goal. From “smart deception” to “smart victory”, there is an urgent need for an overall transformation of the objects of deception, means of deception, methods of deception, and focus of deception, so as to form a new deception paradigm that meets the requirements of the intelligent era.
The target of deception has shifted from humans to human-machine hybrid agents
Clausewitz believed that three-quarters of the factors on which war is based are more or less surrounded by the “fog” of uncertainty. Combat deception is essentially the use of uncertainty in war. The more “fog” there is in war, the more room there is for maneuvering. Traditional combat deception is carried out around the opponent’s decision-making level, and people are the only target of deception. However, with the increasingly prominent role of intelligent intelligence analysis and auxiliary decision-making systems in command activities, the use of deception to achieve strategic, campaign, and tactical surprises faces major challenges. How to deceive human-machine hybrid intelligent entities composed of humans and intelligent systems has become an important factor that needs to be considered when planning and implementing deception in the intelligent era. The competition surrounding intelligent deception and anti-deception is becoming increasingly fierce.
There is a world of difference between deceiving people and deceiving intelligent systems. In the past, the “calculations” that deceived people may be exposed when facing the “calculations” of intelligent systems. Intelligent systems can efficiently integrate and process massive amounts of sensor data and Internet open source information, making a qualitative leap in the speed, depth, breadth and accuracy of battlefield situation perception, realizing a profound transformation from “sensing” to “knowing”, from “state” to “momentum”, and playing an important role in dispelling the “fog” of war. For example, on the battlefield, although both sides try to hide the truth and cover up their intentions in various ways, they still cannot escape the “eyes” of the intelligent system: the tracks left by carefully disguised tanks and armored vehicles, after being detected by the opponent’s satellites, drones, etc., will also reveal their specific locations under the analysis of the intelligent system.
On the contrary, it is very easy to deceive intelligent systems with methods that target them, but it may not be able to deceive people. A foreign research team found that by changing a few key pixels in a picture of a cat, the intelligent system can identify the cat as a dog, while the human eye will not make any recognition errors due to this change. Similar incidents are common. Some studies have pointed out that sticking a piece of paper with a special pattern on a person’s forehead can deceive the strongest facial recognition system, and this method is highly portable and can deceive other facial recognition algorithms with a slight change.
It can be seen that deceiving people and deceiving intelligent systems are two different “deception methods”. After the deep application of artificial intelligence in the field of intelligence analysis and auxiliary decision-making, from the formulation of strategic deception plans to the design of battlefield camouflage patterns, how to deceive both the human brain and the computer and keep the human-machine hybrid intelligent body “in the dark” will be an important issue that needs to be focused on and solved in order to win the initiative in war.
The fraudulent methods have shifted from being mainly human-based to a combination of human and machine.
The organization and implementation of traditional combat deception is mainly manual, especially large-scale strategic deception, which requires a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. For example, in World War II, the Allies formulated a series of deception plans to ensure the success of the Normandy landing: setting up a fake radio network and a simulated landing fleet, and imagining that the US 1st Army Group with 50 divisions and 1 million people was actively preparing to cross the channel and land in the direction of Calais; using the air force to bomb Calais and Normandy, but the former was bombed more than 1 times more than the latter, etc. The application of artificial intelligence in deception can fundamentally change this situation. With humans as the main guide and intelligent means as the auxiliary, it can quickly generate massive amounts of false information, confusing the real with the fake, and create a thicker war “fog” for the opponent.
The use of intelligent means can improve the quality of deception. On the one hand, intelligent decision-making aids can be used to formulate deception plans, optimize the design of deception forces, deception deployment, deception processes, etc., to achieve systematic deception with the best overall effect; on the other hand, intelligent intelligence analysis systems can be used to pre-test the deception effect, “using one’s own spear to attack one’s own shield”, find out the loopholes and contradictions in the plan, and then improve the deception plan to make it logically self-consistent and seamless.
The use of intelligent means can expand the scale of deception. The increasingly mature deep fake technology can synthesize realistic fake pictures, handwriting, audio, video, etc. in large quantities, and has broad application prospects in strategic, campaign, and tactical deception. For example, in strategic campaign deception, corresponding technical means can be used to confuse opponents by forging fake radio stations and fake commanders, and even to fake an active command post in a certain battle direction; in tactical deception, battlefield camouflage can be used to attach special patterns to high-value equipment to make the opponent’s intelligent system recognize it incorrectly.
The use of intelligent means can reduce the cost of deception. With the support of technologies such as virtual reality and deep fakes, unexpected deception effects can often be achieved with the help of synthetic optics, acoustics and other means, and they are low-cost and low-investment, which is more cost-effective than traditional strategic deception methods. For example, setting up false targets such as bait unmanned combat platforms, using electronic feints and electronic camouflage to send false signals can effectively restrain the opponent’s power, produce high returns at low cost, and thus gain the upper hand.
The use of intelligent means can optimize the accuracy of deception. Traditional combat deception is usually stereotyped, with prominent characteristics of broadcast, extensive, and generalized. For this reason, in the era of intelligence, we should focus on collecting data on opponent decision makers in peacetime and use big data for precise analysis to “know the enemy” more deeply and specifically. On this basis, deep fake technology can be used in wartime to customize the content of deception, realizing precise deception from targeting groups to targeting individuals.
The method of deception has shifted from mainly deceiving to mainly confusing and seducing.
“Playing cards” and “playing chess” are two game modes with completely different battlefield transparency. In the “playing cards” mode, both sides only know the cards that the opponent has played, but do not know the cards in the opponent’s hand, let alone what cards the opponent will play next; while in the “playing chess” mode, the deployment of both sides’ forces on the chessboard is completely transparent, but the opponent’s intentions and the next move are unknown. It is not difficult to see that from cold weapon wars, hot weapon wars, mechanized wars, informationized wars, and then to intelligent wars, the form of war confrontation is increasingly changing from the “playing cards” mode to the “playing chess” mode.
In a war of “playing cards”, blind deception is very useful. Through strict disguise and strict confidentiality, the opponent’s channels of information can be blocked as much as possible, making it impossible for the opponent to detect one’s own intentions and actions, thereby achieving surprise. In the past, when the means of obtaining information were limited and information on the battlefield situation was scarce, there were many examples of wars that used “hiding the truth” and “showing falsehood” to achieve surprise. However, at present, with the help of advanced reconnaissance technology, full-dimensional and full-spectrum reconnaissance has been realized, and the battlefield is becoming more and more transparent. Complete concealment without any revealing features is difficult to achieve. Once the concealment state is switched to the action state, the probability of being discovered by the opponent will be greatly increased. Blind deception can only become an auxiliary deception method.
In the war of “chess”, the following two deception methods are usually used: one is confusing deception, that is, using intelligent means to send a large amount of true and false mixed and difficult to identify information, increasing the ambiguity of information and the difficulty of analysis, making it difficult for the opponent to judge or misjudge. The second is inducement deception, that is, by sending high-definition misleading information, the opponent is led into a preset trap. The combination of these two methods and the cooperation of blinding deception together constitute a hybrid deception that is difficult for the opponent to guard against.
The focus of deception shifts from human perception to human cognition
As the main subject of war, people are important variables that influence the war situation, which implies uncertainty and uncontrollability. From the perspective of psychology, cognitive neurology and other aspects, the “black box” of the mind still cannot be revealed. Deception by deception targets people’s eyes and ears, taking advantage of human sensory weaknesses, while deception by deception and temptation directly targets people’s minds, taking advantage of human weaknesses.
From past cases, even with the most advanced intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance technology and the most intelligent analysis methods, it is impossible to make up for and overcome human weaknesses. In many cases, it is not that the intelligence department failed to recognize the opponent’s deception, but that the decision-makers are unwilling to believe the facts. On the eve of the Soviet-German War in World War II, although more and more evidence showed that Germany was planning to invade the Soviet Union, the Soviet decision-makers believed that the war would not come for the time being. Therefore, when the war broke out, the Soviet army was not well prepared for the response, and the initial defensive actions were very passive.
War practice shows that in the era of intelligence, even if the opponent has obvious military technology advantages and can achieve one-way transparency on the battlefield through advanced intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance technology, the enemy can still take advantage of the cognitive weaknesses of the opponent’s decision-making layer to implement counter-intuitive deception and cover up the true intentions and actions. This also shows that the focus and center of deception in the era of intelligence should not be entirely on how to deliberately cover up the traces of military actions, but should focus more on targeting the opponent’s decision-making layer and inducing it to make decisions and actions that the enemy wants to see.
Yuan Yi Zhao Di
(Author’s unit: Institute of War Studies, Academy of Military Science)
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee made new and comprehensive arrangements for national defense and military construction, aimed at achieving the goal of the centenary of the founding of the army, and clearly put forward the contemporary requirements and strategic measures for accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence. Forging ahead on a new journey, focusing on accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, seizing opportunities, responding to challenges, and taking advantage of the situation are of great significance for accelerating the modernization of national defense and the army and comprehensively improving the ability to prepare for war in the new era.
Recognize the necessity of accelerating the integration of mechanization, informatization and intelligence
Those who follow the trend will win, and those who control the trend will prevail. At present, the new round of scientific and technological revolution is showing a strong trend of intelligent technology leading the way, pushing the world’s new military revolution to develop in depth. The trend of intelligent weapons and equipment is obvious, and the superposition and aggregation effect with mechanization and informatization is prominent. The war form is accelerating from mechanization to informatization, entering the stage of giving birth to intelligent warfare. It is the development and change of the times that has made the acceleration of the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence become the general trend and powerful driving force for promoting the in-depth development of military transformation, and the inevitable choice to ensure winning the initiative, winning advantages and winning the future.
Comply with the trend of the world’s military revolution. At present, the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology is increasingly having a subversive impact on the field of war and combat. Seizing the strategic commanding heights of artificial intelligence and accelerating the development of artificial intelligence militarization and practical combat have become the strategic frontiers of military competition among major countries in the world. Increasing the intensity of military application of artificial intelligence technology, realizing the deep transformation and comprehensive upgrading of mechanized and informationized combat equipment, embedding artificial intelligence systems into the informationized combat command chain and action chain, and making the combat force organization more modular and integrated through intelligent transformation are the common practices of the world’s military powers in seeking new military advantages. Whether it is possible to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, especially to fully release the efficiency expansion of intelligence on mechanization and informatization, so that platform operations, system operations and precision operations can obtain higher quality and efficient intelligent support, is undoubtedly a key to whether the strategic initiative of military competition can be firmly grasped.
The need to comprehensively improve the level of modernization. Modernization has a distinct timeliness, and the requirements of the times are the key measure to measure the degree of modernization of a country and an army. Today, we are entering a stage where intelligence is the core driving force of change. The integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence is not only an important symbol of the level of modernization of the country and the army, but also a fundamental measure to promote the modernization of national defense and the army. To accelerate the modernization of military theory, military organizational form, military personnel and weapons and equipment, we need to obtain a powerful engine and support for reform and innovation, transformation and upgrading, quality improvement and efficiency increase from the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, and in a certain sense, it plays an important role in determining the direction, mode and path of modernization. Only by accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, and making it run through all aspects of the whole process of promoting modernization, and promoting quality change, efficiency change and power change from a high starting point, can we comprehensively improve the level of national defense and military modernization.
The need to accelerate the transformation of combat effectiveness generation mode. The generation of combat effectiveness, from the combination of people and weapons to the element structure and the way of force release, has its mandatory era orientation and positioning. With the advent of the era of intelligent warfare, unmanned intelligent warfare has become a key factor affecting the direction of the war and even the outcome of the war. Intelligent technology and equipment have become a multiplier of mechanized and informationized combat effectiveness. Accelerating the development of military intelligence has become the strategic focus of improving the combat capability of the system and building new domains and new qualities of combat forces, making the generation and improvement of combat effectiveness increasingly dependent on the level of integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence. Only by incorporating the transformation of combat effectiveness generation mode into the track of integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, building an intelligent and networked combat command platform, forming a human-machine efficient collaborative combat force use method, and making “smart victory” the core direction of combat theory innovation and combat method transformation, can combat effectiveness construction achieve substantial breakthroughs and overall leaps.
Grasp the requirements of the times to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence
Accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence is a new proposition of the times. Grasping its requirements of the times from the perspective of its essential connotation, mode of action and basic laws is an important prerequisite for ensuring that the integrated development has a clear direction, accurate positioning, clear ideas and practical measures.
Grasp the essential connotation of integrated development. Mechanization, informatization and intelligentization are integrated and developed, with mechanization as the foundation, informatization as the leading factor and intelligence as the direction. The so-called integrated development is to form an integrated and unified promotion pattern, build an integrated design, and gather the best and release the energy operation mode, and produce an overall effect of superposition aggregation and quality and efficiency doubling. This deep integrated development is mainly reflected in: taking cognitive integration as the guide, having a scientific understanding of the advantages of firepower, mobility, information power and intellectual value, and establishing the operational concept of comprehensive control, comprehensive integration and comprehensive victory; relying on platform integration, building a combat platform integrating main combat equipment, information network and artificial intelligence, and improving the comprehensive combat capability of full-domain, precise and unmanned; taking system integration as the core, through the embedded transformation of weapon equipment system and information network system by artificial intelligence system, the overall potential of combat force and combat elements is demonstrated with higher quality and level of system integration; with system integration as the support, coordinating the construction of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, coordinating the construction of combat force and support guarantee force, and creating an integrated joint combat system that adapts to the needs of actual combat.
Grasp the role of integrated development. The integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence is a process of showing their strengths, interacting with each other and promoting each other. It is a process of aggregating equipment advantages, information advantages and intelligence advantages. Its role is mainly reflected in: strengthening the leading role of intelligence, focusing on accelerating the development of military intelligence, insisting on using intelligence to drive the leapfrog development of mechanization and informatization, taking intelligence as the core direction of the development of weapons and equipment and information network construction, increasing the research and development of unmanned and autonomous weapons and equipment, and improving the intelligent application, intelligent management and control, and intelligent operation level of information networks, and giving full play to the maximum effect of controlling energy with intelligence, gathering excellence with intelligence, and winning with intelligence; strengthening the leading role of informatization, grasping the information network system as a handle, accelerating the construction of command information systems and information combat systems, using the advantages of information technology to upgrade and transform existing weapons and equipment, and developing precise, intelligent, integrated, and efficient informationized weapons and equipment, and maximizing the adhesion and integration of information networks on combat systems and effectiveness; strengthening the basic role of mechanization, insisting on taking the mechanization of weapons and equipment as the material basis and carrier for the development of intelligence and informatization, strengthening the construction of weapons and equipment systems, and working hard to fill the gaps in the system and make up for the shortcomings and weaknesses, greatly improving the application level of information technology and intelligent technology in weapons and equipment, and enhancing the scientificity, pertinence, and cutting-edge nature of equipment construction and development.
Grasp the basic laws of integrated development. Mechanization, informatization and intelligence are inevitably closely linked, and together they constitute the key support for the generation and improvement of combat effectiveness. The basic laws of integrated development are mainly manifested in: the progressive nature of development and change, which reflects the different historical stages of the evolution of war forms, changes in combat methods, and the development of weapons and equipment in the time sequence; in terms of interaction, the former is the premise and foundation of the latter (for example, mechanization is the foundation and premise of informatization, and informatization is the foundation and premise of intelligence), and the latter is the development trend and higher potential of the former. With the long-term nature of overlapping and coexisting, the former will produce a marginal diminishing effect when it develops to a certain stage, and the latter needs to inject new momentum and vitality into it, but the latter is not a negation or end of the former, but a repositioning and orientation of the former. What needs to be achieved is the “three-in-one” inclusiveness, rather than the “three-choice” mutual exclusion. It has inclusive complementarity. Mechanization focuses on entities, informatization focuses on data, and intelligence focuses on algorithms. The stronger the foundation of the former, the greater the degree of realization of the latter; the stronger the traction of the latter, the faster the upgrading of the former. It has the empowerment of improving quality and efficiency. Weapon platforms need information networks to empower them, and weapon platforms and information networks need artificial intelligence to empower them. This is a process of optimization and upgrading, improving quality and efficiency, and achieving a new leap in combat effectiveness, quality and efficiency.
Tighten the strategic grasp to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence
To accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence, we should plan, act and follow the trend, focus on combat effectiveness as the only fundamental standard, continuously promote the modernization of national defense and the armed forces, and realize the party’s goal of building a strong military in the new era.
We should focus on preparing for war. Wars change with the times, and victory changes with the times. We should take accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence as an important mission topic to comprehensively improve the ability to prepare for war in the new era. Focus on mission tasks, focus on the new requirements for winning modern wars, conduct in-depth research on the winning mechanism and changes in combat methods brought about by the evolution of war forms, grasp the new characteristics of the informationized and intelligent battlefield, actively explore new tactics for using and responding to intelligent weapons, and improve the informationized and intelligent combat capabilities; focus on transformation and construction, accelerate the transformation of combat effectiveness generation to informatization and intelligence, take military intelligent construction and combat as the main line, accelerate the construction of new domains and new types of combat forces, increase the training of informationized and intelligent talents, and strive to achieve the overall reshaping of combat forces and combat systems; focus on training with war, actively explore new ways of informationized and intelligent training, examine future battlefields and combat opponents from the perspective of “smart war” and “smart victory”, enhance the pertinence of mission topics and emergency response training, use intelligent technology to improve the level of science and technology training, and promote practical training to a higher quality level.
We must focus on deepening reform. Reform is a key move to strengthen the army and win the future. We must accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informationization, and intelligence as an important focus of deepening national defense and military reform. We must insist on seeking combat effectiveness from reform, focus on the prominent characteristics of the army’s lean, integrated, miniaturized, modular, and multi-functional nature in the intelligent era, design reforms with a forward-looking, innovative, and open mind, establish a smooth and efficient leadership, command, and support mechanism, further integrate force resources, streamline the construction and management mechanism, and optimize the organizational structure. Adapting to the requirements of being able to fight and win battles, we must build a strategic and campaign command system that is integrated in peacetime and wartime, operates normally, specializes in the main business, is lean and efficient, and build a joint combat force system with elite combat forces as the main body, promote the development of the force organization in the direction of enrichment, synthesis, multi-functionality, and flexibility, implement modular organization, building block combination, and task-based joint, build a force with multiple capabilities and broad adaptability, and promote the overall leap in combat effectiveness through system structure optimization and reconstruction.
We should stick to the support point of innovation-driven development. Innovation is the core support for the development of combat effectiveness. We should accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence as the focus of implementing the innovation-driven development strategy. We should seek breakthroughs in the innovation of combat theory, closely follow the development trend of military revolution and the recent wars in the world, study the development and application of high-tech, especially intelligent technology and its impact on war, study the new characteristics, new styles and new mechanisms of intelligent warfare, study the winning strategies of intelligent warfare and combat, and accelerate the construction of a combat theory system with the characteristics of our army and in line with the laws of modern warfare. We should seek breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, focus on independent innovation and original innovation in national defense science and technology, take the military application of high-tech, especially artificial intelligence technology, as the main direction, accelerate the implementation of major strategic projects in national defense science and technology and weapons and equipment, accelerate the development of strategic, cutting-edge and disruptive technologies, accelerate the upgrading and replacement of weapons and equipment and the development of intelligent weapons and equipment, strive to achieve the transformation from following and running side by side to running side by side and leading, and provide stronger scientific and technological support for the transformation and construction of our army’s combat effectiveness.
(Author’s unit: Joint Operations College of National Defense University)
Source: Liberation Army News Author: Yuan Yi, Xu Jinhua, Li Zhifei Editor-in-charge: Wang Feng 2020-12-01 10:xx:xx
introduction
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, while emphasizing the need to accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces and achieve the unity of enriching the country and strengthening the military, pointed out the need to accelerate the integrated development of mechanization, informationization, and intelligence (hereinafter referred to as the “three modernizations”), thereby raising the requirements for the integrated development of the “three modernizations” to a strategic level. We must conscientiously implement the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, carry out scientific strategic positioning, strategic planning, and strategic deployment for the integrated development of the “three modernizations”, and vigorously promote the integrated development of the “three modernizations” to expand in depth and breadth. We must accurately grasp the essential connotation of the integrated development of the “three modernizations”.
The era background of the integrated development of the “three transformations”
The parallel advancement, mutual promotion and integrated development of the “three transformations” have profound historical inevitability and are the only way for our military to modernize national defense and the armed forces in the future.
The integrated development of the “three transformations” is in line with the concept of mechanization and informatization. Since the late 1990s, our army has promptly proposed to promote the integrated development of mechanization and informatization. At that time, the war situation was changing from mechanization to informatization. National defense and military construction must take the path of leapfrog development. There is no need to wait until the entire process of mechanization construction of the military of developed countries is completed before engaging in informatization. We should strive to promote the integrated development of mechanization and informatization. We must strive to leapfrog certain stages of mechanization development, and at the same time learn from the mistakes and lessons of mechanization and informatization construction of the military of developed countries, and take as few detours as possible. The experience and lessons learned from the integrated development of national defense and military mechanization and informatization provide valuable experience for how to coordinate the integrated development of the “three transformations” at this stage.
The integrated development of the “three transformations” reflects the reality of the current “multiple forms of warfare”. In today’s world, a new wave of military revolution characterized by military intelligence is sweeping across the world, and the armies of major countries in the world are striding towards the threshold of intelligence. However, due to the imbalance in the development of scientific and technological levels and military strength among countries in the world, several local wars and armed conflicts in the world have shown the characteristics of “multiple forms of warfare” of mechanization, informationization, and intelligence. In the Syrian War, low-end, cheap civilian pickup trucks danced with high-end, expensive stealth aircraft, crudely made homemade rockets and high-precision cruise missiles flew together, and the highly informationized and intelligent U.S. and Russian armies, the highly mechanized Syrian and Turkish armies, and the opposition with a very low mechanization level, jointly performed an alternative “hybrid war” on the Syrian battlefield, in which mechanized warfare, informationized warfare, and elementary intelligent warfare overlapped with each other.
The integrated development of the “three modernizations” is in line with the stage characteristics of the current national social and economic development. my country’s path to modernization is very different from that of Western developed countries. Western developed countries have a “serial” development process, with industrialization, urbanization, agricultural modernization, and informatization developing in sequence, and it took more than 200 years to develop to the current level. my country’s development must be a “parallel” process, with industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization developing in an overlapping manner. The national social and economic foundation is the basic support for national defense and military construction. It is precisely the “parallel” development characteristics of my country’s current social economy that determine that national defense and military construction must adopt the “three modernizations” integrated development mode.
The integrated development of the “three transformations” is adapted to the current level of development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence in the military. After long-term efforts, our military has basically achieved mechanization, and has made significant progress in informatization construction, but is also facing opportunities and challenges of intelligence. The special national and military conditions make it impossible and impossible for our military to copy the development path of the Western developed countries represented by the US military. “Step-by-step” development may lead to the loss of the historical opportunity of promoting intelligence to accelerate the completion of mechanization and informatization, and leading and promoting the development of mechanization and informatization to a higher stage.
The report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that “we should accelerate the development of intelligent military and improve the joint combat capability and all-domain combat capability based on the network information system”, “basically realize mechanization by 2020, make significant progress in informatization construction, and greatly enhance strategic capabilities”, and “strive to basically realize the modernization of national defense and the army by 2035, and build the people’s army into a world-class army in an all-round way by the middle of this century.” On the eve of the August 1st Army Day this year, President Xi Jinping proposed the strategic idea of ”accelerating the integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligence” when presiding over the 22nd collective study of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on strengthening national defense and military modernization. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee further emphasized and deployed this, and incorporated it into the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 2035 Vision Goals for implementation, marking that the requirements for the integrated development of the “three transformations” have been elevated to a strategic level and have become an important guiding ideology for leading national defense and military construction.
The essential connotation of the integrated development of the “three transformations”
The “integration” in the “three transformations” does not mean mixing, combining or compounding. The word “integration” in the physical sense means melting or melting into one; in the psychological sense, it means that after a certain collision or contact, different individuals or groups tend to merge into one in terms of cognition, emotion or attitude. The integrated development of the “three transformations” in national defense and military construction refers to the coordinated mutual tolerance, mutual penetration and mutual promotion of mechanization, informationization and intelligence, from “you are you and I am me” to “you have me and I have you”, and then to “you are me and I am you”, reaching the level of perfect integration and unity, and thus producing a superposition effect, aggregation effect and multiplication effect, and realizing a leap in the overall combat capability.
The basic laws and main characteristics of the integrated development of the “three transformations”. The main ones are: First, the “three transformations” are progressive and orderly dependent. From a chronological perspective, the “three transformations” did not originate at the same time. Without the previous “transformation” as a premise, foundation and input, there would be no occurrence and development of the latter “transformation”. The previous “transformation” provides an important material basis for the latter “transformation”. Second, the “three transformations” overlap and penetrate each other. Informatization is not the end of mechanization. There is still a certain degree of mechanization in the process of informatization. Intelligence is not the end of mechanization and informatization. There is still a certain degree of informatization and mechanization in the process of intelligence. Third, intelligence and informatization can enhance the efficiency of mechanization through virtual control. The “real” here mainly refers to the hardware represented by physical entities such as combat platforms and ammunition, and the “virtual” mainly refers to software with combat data, algorithms, etc. as the core. Mechanization is mainly based on hardware construction, while informatization and intelligence are mainly based on software construction. “Software defines everything”, and hardware is optimized, upgraded, empowered and made more efficient through software. With the in-depth development of the integration of the “three transformations”, the construction priority will be that load will surpass platform, software will surpass load, and algorithm will surpass software.
The internal mechanism and driving mechanism of the integrated development of the “three transformations”. The main ones are: First, the superposition of advantages. Practice has proved that no matter whether it is mechanization, informatization or intelligence, the supporting technology group of each “transformation” will give birth to new weapons and equipment, generate new combat forces, and ultimately form new combat capabilities with different combat mechanisms. These new combat capabilities and the original combat capabilities are combined with advantages to produce a system outflow effect and greatly enhance the overall combat capability of the army.
The second is upgrading and expansion. Informatization aggregates and upgrades mechanized combat systems into informationized combat systems through digital transformation and networking of various mechanized combat platforms, making a qualitative leap in combat effectiveness. Intelligence can also be integrated with mechanization and informatization through upgrading and expansion. On the one hand, intelligent technology is used to upgrade the “brain” of the combat platform – the control system, and promote the control mode of unmanned combat platforms such as drones, unmanned boats, and unmanned ground vehicles, in accordance with the human direct operation mode, human assistance mode, human authorization mode, fully autonomous mode, and machine adaptive mode. After some old combat platforms are upgraded through informatization and intelligent transformation, they can also realize remote control operation and cooperate with manned platforms. On the other hand, the use of intelligent technology to optimize and upgrade the informationized combat system has greatly enhanced its capabilities in information acquisition, transmission, processing, sharing, security and other aspects, and the system’s combat capability has been comprehensively improved again.
The third is to make up for shortcomings and replace them. From the history of military construction, in the process of deepening development of a certain “ization”, bottleneck problems that are difficult to solve by relying solely on its own technical system often appear, and other “ization” technical means and development ideas are urgently needed to find a new way to solve them. At present, machinery is becoming more and more sophisticated and complex, and the difficulty of design and control is increasing; informatization leads to “information explosion”, massive data is generated, rapidly diffused, true and false are mixed, and it is increasingly difficult to quickly transform into useful information. These problems are difficult to be effectively solved within the technical system of mechanization and informatization itself. To break through the bottleneck of mechanical control capabilities and information processing capabilities, the use of intelligent technical means is an important option. Conversely, the technological breakthroughs and applications produced by the previous “ization” may also offset the shortcomings of the latter “ization”. For example, the speed of hypersonic missiles can exceed the reaction capability of the informationized defense combat system and achieve rapid penetration; high-energy microwave weapons can directly destroy networks and electronic equipment, etc., which to a certain extent offset the opponent’s information advantage.
