The report of the 20th CPC National Congress proposed to increase the proportion of new-domain and new-quality combat forces. In today’s world, the war situation is accelerating its evolution towards intelligence, and a large number of advanced technologies are widely used in the military field. New-domain and new-quality combat forces have become the commanding heights of strategic competition among major powers and the key force to win the future. Developing new-domain and new-quality combat forces has become a priority option for the world’s military powers. Understanding what is “new” about new-domain and new-quality combat forces is of great value in clarifying ideas, building scientifically, and improving quality and efficiency.
New developments in space
The space domain is the attribute embodiment of the environment that combat forces rely on and the scope of influence. With the expansion of the scope of human activities and the development of national interests, the current military struggle space has exceeded the traditional land, territorial waters and airspace, and has continuously expanded to the deep sea, space, electromagnetic and other fields, and new domains and new types of combat forces have also emerged.
The scope of action has entered social cognition. The scope of action of new-domain and new-quality combat forces has expanded from the traditional physical domain to the social domain and cognitive domain. In the era of intelligence, disruptive technologies represented by artificial intelligence are accelerating the expansion of the scope of influence of combat forces. The rapid application of technologies such as biological cross-fertilization, brain science, and human-computer interface has promoted the deep penetration and high integration of intelligent network systems and human social activities. New situations and new means such as “intelligent deep forgery” and “fabrication of information manholes” have surfaced in large numbers, and the struggle in the social domain and cognitive domain has gradually evolved into a new domain and new “trend” for power games.
The activity space is more three-dimensional and diversified. Driven by advanced technology, new domain and new quality combat forces have broken through the traditional space of land, sea, air and space, and the scope of activities is more three-dimensional and diversified. The deep sea, space, underground, polar regions, etc. have become new territories for the competition of new domain and new quality combat forces, and have grown into a “new section” for leveraging the combat space. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense issued the “National Defense Space Strategy”. Against the background of the establishment of an independent space force and space command in the United States, its space force has evolved into a synonym for comprehensive space capabilities that integrate military, political, economic, and diplomatic capabilities.
Battlefield dimensions emphasize high-level multi-dimensionality. New domain and new quality combat forces often achieve performance aggregation through high-level multi-dimensional deployment, which is very different from the battlefield deployment of conventional forces. With the extension of battlefield dimensions such as network and electromagnetic, the matrix distribution of new domain and new quality combat forces has broken through the traditional three-dimensional limitations and expanded to a high-level space of high-dimensional, full-dimensional, and large-scale joint. At the end of 2019, the US military launched the concept of “all-domain operations”, integrating space, network, electromagnetic and missile defense capabilities, claiming to compete with competitors in all possible conflict dimensions.
Winning mechanism highlights new changes
The winning mechanism contains the mechanism and principle of seizing the right to occupy and winning. At present, the winning mechanism of intelligent high-end warfare is undergoing profound changes. The new domain and new quality combat force is precisely the “blade” that conforms to the evolution of the war form and conforms to the winning mechanism of intelligent high-end warfare.
The focus of force confrontation is on dimensionality reduction and intelligence control. For new domain and new quality combat forces, data drive is the driving force of power, breaking the network chain is the focus of action, and dimensionality reduction and intelligence control is the focus of confrontation. New domain and new quality combat forces confront based on advanced algorithms and intelligent models, effectively drive key nodes such as cloud, terminal, and library of intelligent combat systems, and form intelligent advantages based on data resources. At the same time, focus on attacking weak links such as the enemy’s data chain system and mobile communication network, cut off the enemy’s cross-domain actions, and block its energy release.
The action path tends to be compound and iterative. Conventional combat forces generally achieve the expected effect through the superposition and accumulation of soft kill and hard destruction, while new domain and new quality combat forces use compound iteration of action effects as an effective path for efficient energy release. In the process of action, it not only emphasizes the role of new forces and new means such as hypersonic, long-range precision, laser electromagnetic and high-power microwave, but also focuses on multi-domain effects such as comprehensive algorithm control, network point paralysis, electromagnetic confrontation, psychological offense and defense, and public opinion building, so as to achieve cross-domain release of combat effects, multi-domain resonance and iterative efficiency enhancement.
The game mode focuses on gray over-limit. Traditional combat forces often pursue the direct effect of damage and destruction, while new domain and new quality combat forces pay more attention to gray over-limit battlefield games. The essence is to effectively reduce domains and control intelligence through non-military destruction, unconventional warfare and non-physical destruction in more fields, wider dimensions and wider ranges based on intelligent means and intelligent tools. It is reported that the US military has developed more than 2,000 computer virus weapons such as Stuxnet, Flame, and Shute, and has successfully used them in battlefields such as Syria and Iran. At present, the US military is striving to use projects such as the “National Cyber Range” to continue to consolidate its dominant position.
New mutations emerge in science and technology
Science and technology have always been the most dynamic and revolutionary factor in military development. Entering the new century, leading, cutting-edge, and disruptive technologies have shown a “booming” growth and have become an important variable in promoting the development of new domains and new types of combat forces.
Mutations come from emerging technologies. Advanced technologies play a vital role in driving the development of combat forces. The core technologies that support new-domain and new-quality combat forces have been rapidly transformed from traditional categories to emerging fields. In today’s world, intelligent technology has made new progress, unmanned system technology has entered an explosive period, space confrontation technology has flourished, network combat technology has advanced in depth, new concept weapons technology has attracted much attention, and fusion technology has given birth to disruptive innovation. As the key to changing the rules of the war game, new-domain and new-quality combat forces must firmly grasp the “key to victory” of emerging technologies.
Mutations present cluster effects. Breakthroughs in advanced science and technology often have a decisive impact on the development of new domain and new quality combat forces. In the era of intelligence, the science and technology system is more complex and systematic, and the role of core and key technologies emphasizes cluster effects and overall emergence. At present, the world’s military science and technology presents an all-round, multi-domain, and deep-level development trend. Various professional directions are accelerating through multi-point breakthroughs, multi-party penetration, and deep integration. The key technologies that support new domain and new quality combat forces are also undergoing a transformation from single competition to cluster promotion.
Mutation favors integration and crossover. Advanced science and technology have a subversive effect of changing the rules of engagement and breaking the conventional path in promoting the development of new domain and new quality combat forces. Today, the development of cutting-edge technology is shifting from conventional disciplines to cutting-edge crossovers. Big crossovers, big integrations, and big breakthroughs have become the general trend. The world’s military powers have increased their investment in artificial intelligence, biological crossovers, advanced computing, hypersonics, and other directions, and have used integration and crossover as an effective way to innovate cutting-edge technologies, competing for the strategic commanding heights of the development of new domain and new quality combat forces.
New modes for weapons and equipment
Weapons and equipment have always been an effective carrier for combat forces to exert their effectiveness. The weapons and equipment of new-domain and new-quality combat forces have the characteristics of new technology, new functions, and new modes. They can effectively exert new-domain and new-quality combat capabilities, create a window of advantage, paralyze the opponent’s system, and form a shock effect.
Platform equipment focuses on intelligent unmanned. At present, the platform equipment of new domain and new quality combat forces has broken through the conventional manned control mode and accelerated the transformation to intelligent unmanned form. In recent years, based on the rapid application of intelligent unmanned technology, full-spectrum unmanned platforms, intelligent equipment and unmanned swarms have experienced explosive growth. The US military’s “Global Hawk” and “Predator” drones have been put into actual combat in large numbers, and the F-35 and the unmanned version of the F-16 have continuously strengthened manned and unmanned collaboration through the “Loyal Wingman” program. The US military plans that drones will account for 90% of its air force aircraft equipment in the future.
The weapon system highlights heterogeneity and versatility. The integration of various types of data links, standards and waveforms provides a richer set of technical integration tools for the weapon systems of new-domain and new-quality combat forces. The weapon systems of new-domain and new-quality combat forces have changed the fixed state of individual operation and static combination, and have placed more emphasis on heterogeneous hinges and data conversion based on network information systems to quickly build cross-domain and cross-dimensional wide-area distributed weapon systems. In 2017, the US military proposed the concept of “mosaic warfare”, envisioning the use of dynamic distribution technology to transform the previously centralized and static weapon systems into heterogeneous and multi-functional ones.
The equipment system is more flexible and open. The equipment system of the new domain and new quality combat force has changed the structural mode of element series connection and unit parallel connection, becoming more flexible and open. With the help of “decentralized” design, the new domain and new quality combat force distributes the key functions of the equipment system nodes to each unit module, which can effectively avoid the passive situation of paralysis as a whole once a certain type or some key equipment is hit. In recent years, the US military has actively promoted the test and verification of “sewing” new electronic system integration technology, which is to accelerate the development of new information fusion and interoperability technologies.
New forms of force formation
Force organization is a form of deployment of combat forces, which directly affects the role and effectiveness of combat forces. New-domain and new-type combat forces have the characteristics of new force platforms, wide range of areas involved, innovative combat mechanisms, and sudden technological development. Force organization is significantly different from traditional forces.
The integration of elements emphasizes dynamic reconstruction. New-domain and new-quality combat forces have realized the dynamic reconstruction and cross-domain integration of combat elements, and promoted the transformation of combat elements from static matching to dynamic reconstruction. Based on the support of intelligent network information system, new-domain and new-quality combat forces can give full play to the derivative effectiveness of intelligent technology, and build a fusion iterative update mechanism of system elements based on autonomous and intelligent battlefield real-time command and control. Through heterogeneous functional elements and unit modules, iterative updates of system elements, reorganization and optimization of system structure, and evolutionary improvement of system capabilities can be achieved.
The unit architecture relies on cross-domain networking. The new domain and new quality combat force has achieved a leap from intra-domain combination to multi-domain aggregation of the unit architecture. Using advanced information network technology and based on mutually cooperative functional nodes, the new domain and new quality combat force can build a distributed “kill network” with good resilience to achieve wide-area configuration, cross-domain networking and multi-domain aggregation of combat units and basic modules. In the U.S. Army’s “Convergence Plan 2020” exercise, the “Firestorm” artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making system was able to achieve target input for the cutting-edge “Gray Eagle” drone within 20 seconds, and connect with attack weapons such as glide guided bombs, helicopters, and ground artillery.
The formation structure emphasizes human-machine hybrid. The new domain and new quality combat force has realized the transformation of the formation structure from manned to man-machine hybrid. The application of a large number of unmanned platforms and unmanned combat clusters enables the new domain and new quality combat force to rely on the intelligent combat system to form a heterogeneous and diverse open hybrid formation. Various unmanned system platforms are based on artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to autonomously build links and networks and generate multiple sets of combination plans. With the help of auxiliary decision-making tools, commanders can quickly select the best man-machine hybrid formation to achieve intelligent decision-making and unexpected victory.
The prelude to the era of intelligent warfare has begun. Command information systems with intelligent characteristics will become the “central nerve” of future intelligent combat command and control, and are the supporting means of intelligent combat command and control. Accelerating the construction of intelligent command information systems is an inherent requirement for the development of military intelligence. Only by clarifying the development essentials of intelligent command information systems, grasping the key points of intelligent command information system research and development, and exploring the key points of intelligent command information system development can we better promote the construction and development of intelligent command information systems and gain the upper hand in future intelligent combat.
Clarify the key points of developing intelligent command information system
Intelligent command information system is the inevitable choice for the development of war form towards information-based intelligent warfare, the inevitable result of the development of scientific and technological revolution, and the era’s call for the development of military intelligence. Clarifying the development essentials of intelligent command information system will help to guide the construction direction of intelligent command information system and establish the long-term goal of system development.
Promote the intelligent evolution of war. In the future intelligent warfare, the battlefield situation is changing rapidly and the battlefield environment is complex and severe. In order to take the initiative on the battlefield, “control of intelligence” has become a new commanding height, and the intelligent command information system is undoubtedly an important means of supporting future combat command and action. Its intelligent development can promote the evolution of war to intelligence, and is an important support for intelligent warfare to gain the initiative and seek victory.
Support intelligent innovation of combat concepts. Future intelligent combat requires a combat command concept that is compatible with it, and the intelligent command information system is an important support for the practical application of the combat command concept, and is the soil for the innovation and development of the intelligent combat command concept. New intelligent combat command concepts such as human-machine hybrid command formation, data-driven command activities, open development command mode, and intelligent force-focused command process are inseparable from the support of the intelligent command information system. The intelligent command information system will serve as the extension of the human brain, breaking through the physiological limits of the human body and realizing the organic integration of combat command art and intelligent technology.
Promote the intelligent transformation of combat methods. The widespread application of artificial intelligence technology in the military field has brought about major changes in the combat victory mechanism. Intelligence has surpassed firepower and information power and has become the primary factor in determining the outcome of a war. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems will promote the transformation of combat methods to intelligence, making the combat methods change from “combat networks + precision-guided weapons” in the information age to “intelligent Internet of Things + manned/unmanned combat platforms” in the intelligent age, and the basic combat style will evolve from “network-centric warfare” to “cognitive-centric warfare” accordingly.
Grasp the key points of intelligent command information system research and development
The command information system is a product of the information warfare era. With the rapid development of military intelligence and the research and practical application of intelligent combat winning mechanisms, the intelligent upgrade of the command information system is imminent. We should highlight the key points of functional research and development and create a new intelligent command information system.
“Super-brainization” assists decision-making. In the future intelligent warfare, the amount of battlefield information data is huge and complex and changeable. Commanders are easily trapped in the “sea of information” during the command process, resulting in information confusion and affecting command decisions. With the emergence of intelligent decision-making technology and “cloud brain” and “digital staff”, a new decision-making model based on the collaboration of “human brain + artificial intelligence” is quietly taking shape. The intelligent command information system will break through the limits of human intelligence, as an extension of the human brain, assist the commander’s work, and develop war decisions from simple human brain decisions to “human brain + artificial intelligence” super-brainized command decisions.
“Full-dimensional” situational awareness. In future intelligent combat, the space will be multi-dimensional, the forces will be diversified, the styles will be diverse, and the pace will be accelerated. Comprehensive and flexible grasp of battlefield situations will become the basis for commanders to make decisions, and multi-domain integration and intelligent dynamic presentation of full-dimensional battlefield situations will become an inevitable requirement for the construction and development of command information systems. The command information system’s perception, understanding, integration and prediction of battlefield situations such as target identification, threat level estimation, combat action prediction and future war situation prediction are expanding from land, sea, air, space, electromagnetic, network and other spaces to cognitive and social domains, realizing “full-dimensional” situational awareness.
“Intelligent” network communication. In the future, intelligent warfare will use a large number of intelligent command and control platforms and intelligent weapon platforms, and the intelligent information and communication system must be connected to the command and control platform and the weapon platform. Like the nerves and blood vessels of the human body, the intelligent information and communication system plays a linking and lubricating role in intelligent warfare. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an intelligent information network with full-dimensional coverage and uninterrupted communication to support the connection and control of intelligent equipment, form intelligent optimization of network structure, intelligent reorganization of network anti-destruction, and intelligent anti-interference capabilities, so as to ensure intelligent collaborative operations between platforms and exert the best overall combat effectiveness.
“Unmanned” autonomous collaboration. In recent local conflicts around the world, drones have been used in large numbers and have played an important role in determining the direction of war, which has attracted widespread attention from all parties. Unmanned weapons and equipment are the material basis of intelligent warfare, and have formed disruptive combat styles based on this, such as invasive lone wolf warfare, manned/unmanned collaborative system sabotage warfare, unmanned system formation independent warfare, and drone swarm cluster warfare. Although unmanned warfare is led by humans, machines are given a certain degree of autonomous action authority in the background, thereby realizing unmanned combat operations on the front line. However, the unmanned battlefield is changing rapidly, and the destruction of human-machine collaboration will become the norm. The command and control system of the unmanned intelligent equipment platform must be more intelligent and be able to conduct autonomous and coordinated combat according to the purpose of the operation.
“Active” information defense. Intelligent warfare will inevitably face all-dimensional and diverse information attacks from powerful enemies. The level of information security protection capabilities directly affects the outcome of the “intellectual power” struggle on the battlefield and is a key link in the construction of intelligent command information systems. Therefore, we should take the initiative to actively formulate and improve network protection strategies, enrich intrusion detection capabilities and authentication and identification methods, strengthen the application of high-tech information security technologies, strengthen the anti-interference and anti-intervention capabilities of various wireless transmission methods, and strengthen intelligent traceability and countermeasure capabilities to effectively curb information attacks.
Exploring the key to the development of intelligent command information system
The development of intelligent command information system is not only a technological innovation, but also requires further emancipation of mind and updating of concepts. To promote the development of intelligent command information system, we must change the traditional idea of adding hardware, building a large “network”, collecting and storing various types of data, break through the inherent hierarchical settings, create an open and service-oriented system, aim at the needs of intelligent combat command and action, and explore and study the key points of the development of intelligent command information system.
Innovative concepts. Adhere to the guidance of innovative thinking concepts, learn from the development ideas of intelligent command information systems of military powers, combine actual needs, and explore a development path with its own characteristics. We must break the traditional “building chimneys” approach, adhere to the top-level design and overall planning of command information systems, unify interfaces, protocols and standards, and form an open and sustainable system architecture layout; adhere to the system development ideas that combine research, construction and use, formulate short-term, medium-term and long-term development strategies, and standardize the direction of system construction and development; adhere to iterative upgrades and optimization and improvement strategies, and continuously improve the intelligence level of various subsystems such as command control, intelligence reconnaissance, communications, information confrontation and comprehensive support, to ensure the continuous and healthy development of intelligent command information systems.
Focus on the key. Focusing on the construction of key capabilities of intelligent command information systems is an important support for intelligent warfare to gather intelligence and win with intelligence, and is the key to intelligent warfare to gain the “right to win”. Algorithms, computing power, and data are not only the internal driving force and support for the development of artificial intelligence, but also the core capability requirements and advantages of intelligent command information systems. The development of intelligent command information systems must adhere to algorithm innovation research to improve the system’s cognitive advantages, speed advantages, and decision-making advantages; accelerate the research and development of the next generation of computers represented by quantum computers to provide stronger computing power support for intelligent command information systems; deeply explore the deeper and wider dimensional information value in massive combat data resources to seek the initiative to win.
Gather wisdom to tackle key problems. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems is one of the main projects of military intelligence. It is a multi-domain, multi-disciplinary, multi-departmental and multi-unit integrated and coordinated project. The construction and development of intelligent command information systems must adhere to the spirit of collective wisdom, collective wisdom, pioneering and innovation, aiming at strategic forward-looking fields such as sensors, quantum information, network communications, integrated circuits, key software, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, and insist on high-tech promotion and intelligent combat demand. Carry out in-depth research and exchanges in multiple fields, multiple levels, and multiple forms, continuously break through innovation, iterative upgrades, and make the intelligent command information system more complete and more intelligent.
Collaborative development. To further promote the construction and development of intelligent command information systems, we must fully absorb local advanced technological achievements and integrate into the era of innovation and development of artificial intelligence in the world. At present, the world’s artificial intelligence technology is booming, accumulating strong development momentum and technological advantages. Artificial intelligence technology has strong versatility in application and broad prospects for the transformation and application of technological achievements. It is an important way to achieve the construction and development of intelligent command information systems. We must study and formulate general technical standards, remove barriers, break the ice, facilitate military-civilian cooperation, and realize the sharing and linkage of technological achievements. We must cultivate and shape new military talents through collaboration, so that they can constantly adapt to the needs of various positions under intelligent conditions and give full play to the effectiveness of intelligent command information systems.
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.
As a strategic technology leading a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, artificial intelligence is profoundly changing the form of modern warfare. Countries have taken a national strategic approach to Focus on the military field and develop artificial intelligence.
Currently, artificial intelligence is profoundly changing people’s thinking, lifestyles and exploration directions. Its application and development in the military field will also have a profound impact on future war fighting styles, combat spaces and means. While major countries have elevated artificial intelligence to a national strategy, they are also taking various measures to promote the military application of artificial intelligence.
Russia–
Highlight military priority
Focus on actual combat testing
As the importance of artificial intelligence technology gradually becomes apparent, Russia has listed artificial intelligence as a priority development area to promote military modernization and intelligence and compete for strategic commanding heights.
Russia has successively introduced strategic plans such as the “National Weapons and Equipment Plan 2018-2025” and the “National Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy before 2030”, and established the National Artificial Intelligence Center, the Robotics Technology Development Center, etc. to carry out theoretical and applied research in the fields of artificial intelligence and information technology.
The Russian military has currently developed and applied artificial intelligence technology in all combat domains on land, sea and air, and possesses a considerable scale of unmanned combat forces.
On land, China has unmanned combat vehicles represented by the “Uranus” series, “Platform-M” and “Argo” models. In the air, China has “Pomegranate”-4, “Fast Light Particle” short-range UAVs, “Sea Eagle”-10, “Outpost” and other medium-sized UAVs that perform reconnaissance, command and communication relay tasks. Underwater, China has in service large-scale “Harpsichord”-1R, small-scale “Marlin-350”, “Vision-600” micro-unmanned submarines, especially the “Poseidon” nuclear-powered unmanned submarine, which can carry a nuclear warhead with a TNT equivalent of 2 million tons.
Since 2015, the Russian army has formed combat robot companies in various military regions and fleets, equipped a large number of robots, and continuously organized artificial intelligence exercises. In addition, the Russian army has accelerated the research on combat theory and the development of new equipment systems, and conducted actual combat tests in the battlefields of Syria and eastern Ukraine, providing a reliable basis for the development and improvement of unmanned combat systems. In the Syrian military operation in early 2016, the Russian army used six “Platform-M” tracked unmanned combat vehicles and four “Codeword” wheeled unmanned reconnaissance vehicles for the first time to participate in the attack and occupy enemy positions, creating a practical precedent for ground unmanned equipment to move from auxiliary combat to main combat.
Currently, the Russian military is stepping up efforts to integrate artificial intelligence systems with drones, missiles, etc. to cope with the future era of intelligent warfare.
USA–
Develop long-term plans
Strengthening technology leadership
The U.S. military has always focused on the research and development of artificial intelligence technology, and has made arrangements at the national strategic level, with a clear development strategy, specific tactical models and strong technical support. Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Defense has strengthened the top-level planning of unmanned equipment and technology development by regularly updating the unmanned equipment development strategy and roadmap.
In 2014, the United States proposed the “Third Offset Strategy” with artificial intelligence as the key supporting technology. In October 2016, then-US President Obama released a report at the White House, “National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan”, which proposed seven strategic directions and two suggestions for the priority development of artificial intelligence in the United States. The US military has successively formulated artificial intelligence technology research and development plans, key project ideas, and technical standards and specifications, focusing on building a research and development production and combat application system, and promoting the deployment of projects such as intelligent missiles and unmanned autonomous aerial refueling.
At present, the U.S. military’s active unmanned equipment is still mainly controlled by remote control or pre-programming. It is expected that in the future, major breakthroughs will be made in the autonomy of unmanned equipment and manned-unmanned collaboration. The U.S. military also hopes to further develop neural technology to enable combat personnel to interact with the system on the battlefield in the future, and ultimately achieve consciousness connection and human-like thinking of artificial intelligence systems.
With the deployment of a series of new combat concepts and related military application projects, the United States is accelerating the transformation of artificial intelligence technology into weapons and equipment systems and unmanned combat systems to offset the combat capabilities of its opponents, maintain absolute military advantages, and safeguard its global hegemony.
Yingde is based on——
Promoting resource integration
Each has its own development path
The UK has defined its AI strategy as a key national strategy and has developed a development path of “universities as the source and military-civilian integration”, focusing on cooperating with the world’s top universities and mature companies to explore ways to maintain military advantages on future battlefields. In September 2018, the UK announced that it had developed an AI military robot called “Sapiens” that can scan urban battlefields, detect hidden enemies, and send information to soldiers.
As a traditional industrial power, Germany regards artificial intelligence as the key to maintaining Germany’s competitiveness and safeguarding Germany’s future. Germany, which has the world’s largest artificial intelligence research center, released the national “Artificial Intelligence Strategy” in 2018, planning to invest about 3 billion euros at the federal level by 2025 to create an “artificial intelligence made in Germany” brand. In terms of military applications of artificial intelligence, Germany has also achieved many important results. The German army has been equipped with digital systems with intelligent information perception and processing capabilities in large quantities. The German Air Force’s “Typhoon” fighter has successfully achieved interconnection with remote-controlled vehicles and can receive and execute combat missions at the same time.
Israel has a small territory and a complex surrounding situation. A strong sense of insecurity is a powerful driving force for its development of artificial intelligence, and deep military-civilian integration has provided advanced technology, abundant funds and high-level talents for the rapid development of artificial intelligence in the Israeli military. Its national artificial intelligence program, the “Tower” program, a collaboration between the military and the Hebrew University, has provided a number of outstanding talents for the Israel Defense Forces to improve their intelligence level.
Today, Israel has become the world’s largest exporter of military drones, accounting for about 60% of the world’s exports. Among them, drones such as “Hermes” and “Skylark” represent the world’s advanced level. Many of the Azerbaijani drones that have attracted attention in the recent war between India and Pakistan were imported from Israel. Israel’s “Guardian” unmanned vehicle is the world’s first controllable autonomous unmanned vehicle. The Israeli Navy is equipped with multiple types of unmanned surface vessels such as “Protector”, “Stingray” and “Seagull”, among which the “Seagull” unmanned surface vessel can perform a variety of tasks such as anti-submarine, anti-mine, and anti-frogman.
The weaponization of artificial intelligence is an inevitable trend in the new round of military transformation. Local wars and conflicts in recent years have further stimulated relevant countries to promote the strategic deployment of artificial intelligence weaponization and seize the commanding heights of future wars. The potential risks of artificial intelligence weaponization cannot be ignored. It may intensify the arms race and break the strategic balance; empower the combat process and increase the risk of conflict; increase the difficulty of accountability and increase collateral casualties; lower the threshold of proliferation and lead to misuse and abuse. In this regard, we should strengthen international strategic communication to ensure consensus and cooperation among countries on the military application of artificial intelligence; promote dialogue and coordination on the construction of laws and regulations to form a unified and standardized legal framework; strengthen the ethical constraints of artificial intelligence to ensure that technological development meets ethical standards; actively participate in global security governance cooperation and jointly maintain peace and stability in the international community.
The weaponization of artificial intelligence is to apply artificial intelligence-related technologies, platforms and services to the military field, making it an important driving force for enabling military operations, thereby improving the efficiency, accuracy and autonomy of military operations. With the widespread application of artificial intelligence technology in the military field, major powers and military powers have increased their strategic and resource investment and accelerated the pace of research and development and application. The frequent regional wars and conflicts in recent years have further stimulated the battlefield application of artificial intelligence, and profoundly shaped the form of war and the future direction of military transformation.
It cannot be ignored that, as a rapidly developing technology, AI itself may have potential risks due to the immaturity of its inherent technology, inaccurate scene matching, and incomplete supporting conditions. It is also easy to bring various risks and challenges to the military field and even the international security field due to human misuse, abuse, or even malicious use. To conscientiously implement the global security initiative proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, we must face the development trend of weaponization of AI worldwide, conduct in-depth analysis of the security risks that may be brought about by the weaponization of AI, and think about scientific and feasible governance ideas and measures.
Current trends in the weaponization of artificial intelligence
In recent years, the application of artificial intelligence in the military field is fundamentally reshaping the future form of war, changing the future combat system, and affecting the future direction of military reform. Major military powers have regarded artificial intelligence as a subversive key technology that will change the rules of future wars, and have invested a lot of resources to promote the research and development and application of artificial intelligence weapons.
The weaponization of artificial intelligence is an inevitable trend in military transformation.
With the rapid development of science and technology, the necessity and urgency of military reform have become increasingly prominent. Artificial intelligence can simulate human thinking processes, extend human brainpower and physical strength, realize rapid information processing, analysis and decision-making, and develop increasingly complex unmanned weapon system platforms, thus providing unprecedented intelligent support for military operations.
First, it provides intelligent support for military intelligence reconnaissance and analysis. Traditional intelligence reconnaissance methods are constrained by multiple factors such as manpower and time, and it is difficult to effectively respond to large-scale, high-speed and high-complexity intelligence processing needs. The introduction of artificial intelligence technology has brought innovation and breakthroughs to the field of intelligence reconnaissance. In military infrastructure, the application of artificial intelligence technology can build an intelligent monitoring system to provide high-precision and real-time intelligence perception services. In the field of intelligence reconnaissance, artificial intelligence technology has the ability to process multiple “information flows” in real time, thereby greatly improving analysis efficiency. ① By using technical tools such as deep learning, it is also possible to “see the essence through the phenomenon”, dig out the deep context and causal relationship in various types of fragmented intelligence information, and quickly transform massive fragmented data into usable intelligence, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of intelligence analysis.
Second, provide data support for combat command and decision-making. Artificial intelligence provides strong support for combat command and military decision-making in terms of battlefield situation awareness. ② Its advantage lies in the ability to perform key tasks such as data mining, data fusion, and predictive analysis. In information-based and intelligent warfare, the battlefield environment changes rapidly, and the amount of intelligence information is huge, requiring rapid and accurate decision-making responses. Therefore, advanced computer systems have become an important tool to assist commanders in managing intelligence data, making enemy situation judgments, proposing combat plan suggestions, and formulating plans and orders. Taking the US military as an example, the ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Identification and Tracking) system developed by Raytheon Technologies Corporation of the United States covers intelligence collection, surveillance, target identification and tracking functions, and can gather data from multiple information sources such as satellites, ships, aircraft and ground stations, and conduct in-depth analysis and processing. This not only significantly improves the speed at which commanders obtain information, but also can provide data support with the help of intelligent analysis systems, making decisions faster, more efficient and more accurate.
Third, it provides important support for unmanned combat systems. Unmanned combat systems are a new type of weapon and equipment system that can independently complete military tasks without direct human manipulation. They mainly include intelligent unmanned combat platforms, intelligent ammunition, and intelligent combat command and control systems, and have significant autonomy and intelligent features. As a technical equipment that leads the transformation of future war forms, unmanned combat systems have become an important bargaining chip in military competition between countries. The system has achieved adaptability to different battlefield environments and combat spaces by using key technologies such as autonomous navigation, target recognition, and path planning. With the help of advanced algorithms such as deep learning and reinforcement learning, unmanned combat systems can independently complete navigation tasks and achieve precise strikes on targets. The design concept of this system is “unmanned platform, manned system”, and its essence is an intelligent extension of manned combat systems. For example, the “MQM-57 Falconer” drone developed by the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) uses advanced artificial intelligence technology and has highly autonomous target recognition and tracking functions.
Fourth, provide technical support for military logistics and equipment support. In the context of information warfare, the war process has accelerated, mobility has improved, and combat consumption has increased significantly. The traditional “excessive pre-storage” support model can no longer adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the modern battlefield. Therefore, higher requirements are placed on combat troops to provide timely, appropriate, appropriate, appropriate, and appropriate rapid and accurate after-sales support. As a technology with spillover and cross-integration characteristics, artificial intelligence is integrated with cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, allowing artificial intelligence knowledge groups, technology groups, and industrial groups to fully penetrate the military after-sales field, significantly improving the logistics equipment support capabilities.
Major countries are planning to develop military applications of artificial intelligence.
In order to enhance their global competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence, major powers such as the United States, Russia, and Japan have stepped up their strategic layout for the military application of artificial intelligence. First, by updating and adjusting the top-level strategic planning in the field of artificial intelligence, they provide clear guidance for future development; second, in response to future war needs, they accelerate the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and the military field, and promote the intelligent, autonomous, and unmanned development of equipment systems; in addition, they actively innovate combat concepts to drive combat force innovation, thereby improving combat effectiveness and competitive advantages.
The first is to formulate a strategic plan. Based on the strategic paranoia of pursuing military hegemony, political hegemony, and economic hegemony with technological hegemony, the United States is accelerating its military intelligence process. In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense issued the “Data, Analysis and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Strategy”, which aims to expand the advanced capabilities of the entire Department of Defense system to gain lasting military decision-making advantages. The Russian military promulgated the “Russian Weapons and Equipment Development Outline from 2024 to 2033”, known as the “3.0 version”, which aims to provide guidance for the development of weapons and equipment in the next 10 years. The outline emphasizes the continued advancement of nuclear and conventional weapons construction, and focuses on the research of artificial intelligence and robotics technology, hypersonic weapons and other strike weapons based on new physical principles.
The second is to develop advanced equipment systems. Since 2005, the U.S. military has released a version of the “Unmanned System Roadmap” every few years to look forward to and design unmanned system platforms in various fields such as air, ground, surface/underwater, and connect the development chain of unmanned weapons and equipment such as research and development-production-testing-training-combat-support. At present, more than 70 countries in the world can develop unmanned system platforms, and various types of drones, unmanned vehicles, unmanned ships (boats), and unmanned submarines are springing up like mushrooms after rain. On July 15, 2024, Mark Milley, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with U.S. Defense News that by 2039, one-third of the U.S. military will be composed of robots. The Platform-M combat robot, the “Lancet” suicide drone, and the S70 “Hunter” heavy drone developed by the Russian army have been put into actual combat testing.
The third is to innovate future combat concepts. The combat concept is a forward-looking study of future war styles and combat methods, which can often lead to the leapfrog development of new combat force formations and weapons and equipment. In recent years, the US military has successively proposed combat concepts such as “distributed lethality”, “multi-domain warfare” and “mosaic warfare” in an attempt to lead the development direction of military transformation. Taking “mosaic warfare” as an example, this combat concept regards various sensors, communication networks, command and control systems, weapon platforms, etc. as “mosaic fragments”. These “fragment” units, with the support of artificial intelligence technology, can be dynamically linked, autonomously planned, and collaboratively combined through network information systems to form an on-demand integrated, highly flexible, and flexible killing network. In March 2022, the US Department of Defense released the “Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) Strategic Implementation Plan”, which aims to expand multi-domain operations to all-domain operations concepts, connect sensors of various services to a unified “Internet of Things”, and use artificial intelligence algorithms to help improve combat command decisions. ③
War conflicts stimulate the weaponization of artificial intelligence.
In recent years, local conflicts such as the Libyan conflict, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Ukrainian crisis, and the Israeli-Kazakh conflict have continued, further stimulating the development of the weaponization of artificial intelligence.
In the Libyan conflict, the warring parties used various types of drones to perform reconnaissance and combat missions. According to a report released by the United Nations Panel of Experts on Libya, the Turkish-made Kargu-2 drone carried out a “hunt and engage remotely” operation in Libya in 2020, and could autonomously attack retreating enemy soldiers. This incident marked the first use of lethal autonomous weapon systems in actual combat. As American scholar Zachary Cullenborn said, if someone unfortunately died in such an autonomous attack, this would most likely be the first known example in history of artificial intelligence autonomous weapons being used for killing. In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan used a formation of Turkish-made “Flagship” TB2 drones and Israeli-made “Harop” drones to successfully break through the Armenian air defense system and gain air superiority and initiative on the battlefield. ④ The remarkable results of the Azerbaijani army’s drone operations are largely due to the Armenian army’s “underestimation of the enemy” mentality and insufficient understanding of the importance and threat of drones in modern warfare. Secondly, from the perspective of offensive strategy, the Azerbaijani army has made bold innovations in drone warfare. They flexibly use advanced equipment such as reconnaissance and strike drones and cruise missiles, which not only improves combat efficiency, but also greatly enhances the suddenness and lethality of combat. ⑤
During the Ukrainian crisis that broke out in 2022, both Russia and Ukraine widely used military-grade and commercial drones to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, artillery targeting and strike missions. The Ukrainian army used the “Flagship” TB2 drone and the “Switchblade” series of suicide drones assisted by the United States to carry out precision strikes and efficient killings, becoming a “battlefield killer” that attracted worldwide attention. In the Israeli-Kazakhstan conflict, the Israeli military was accused of using an artificial intelligence system called “Lavender” to identify and lock bombing targets in Gaza. It once marked as many as 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza as suspected “militants” and identified them as targets that could be directly “assassinated”. The Israeli military’s actions have attracted widespread attention and condemnation from the international community. ⑥
Security risks posed by weaponization of artificial intelligence
From automated command systems to intelligent unmanned combat platforms, to intelligent decision-making systems in network defense, the application of artificial intelligence technology in the military field is becoming more and more common and has become an indispensable part of modern warfare. However, with the trend of weaponization of artificial intelligence, its misuse, abuse and even malicious use will also bring risks and challenges to international security that cannot be ignored.
Intensify the arms race and disrupt the strategic balance.
In the information and intelligent era, the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence is hard for major military powers to resist. They are all focusing on the development and application of artificial intelligence military capabilities, fearing that they will fall behind in this field and lose strategic opportunities. Deepening the military application of artificial intelligence can gain “asymmetric advantages” at a lower cost and with higher efficiency.
First, countries are scrambling to seize the “first mover advantage”. When a country achieves technological leadership in the development of intelligent weapon systems, it means that the country has more advanced artificial intelligence and related application capabilities, giving it a first-mover advantage in weapon system development, control, and emergency response. This advantage includes higher autonomy, intelligence, and adaptability, which increases the country’s military strength and strategic competitive advantage. At the same time, the military advantage of the first mover may become a security threat to competitors, leading to a scramble among countries in the military application of advanced technologies. ⑦ In August 2023, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathryn Hicks announced the “Replicator initiative”, which seeks to deploy thousands of “autonomous weapon systems” in the Indo-Pacific region in less than two years. ⑧
Second, the opacity of AI armament construction in various countries may intensify the arms race. There are two main reasons for this: First, AI technology is an “enabling technology” that can be used to design a variety of applications, which means that it is difficult to verify the specific situation of AI military applications. It is difficult to determine whether a country is developing or deploying nuclear weapons by monitoring uranium, centrifuges, weapons and delivery systems, as is the case with nuclear weapons. The difference between semi-autonomous and fully autonomous weapon systems is mainly due to different computer software algorithms, and it is difficult to verify the implementation of treaties by various countries through physical verification. Second, in order to maintain their strategic advantages, countries often take confidentiality measures for the details of the military application of advanced technologies, so that opponents cannot detect their strategic intentions. In the current international environment, this opacity not only intensifies the arms race, but also lays the groundwork for future escalation of conflicts.
Third, the uncertainty of the strategic intentions of various countries will also intensify the arms race. The impact of artificial intelligence on strategic stability, nuclear deterrence and war escalation depends largely on other countries’ perception of its capabilities rather than its actual capabilities. As American scholar Thomas Schelling pointed out, international relations often have the characteristics of risk competition, which is more of a test of courage than force. The relationship between major opponents is determined by which side is ultimately willing to invest more power, or make it look like it is about to invest more power. ⑨ An actor’s perception of the capabilities of others, whether true or false, will greatly affect the progress of the arms race. If a country vigorously develops intelligent weapon systems, competitors will become suspicious of their competitors’ armament capabilities and intentions to develop armaments without being sure of the other party’s intentions, and often take reciprocal measures, that is, to meet their own security needs by developing armaments. It is this ambiguity of intention that stimulates technological accumulation, exacerbates the instability of weapons deployment, and ultimately leads to a vicious cycle.
Empowering operational processes increases the risk of conflict.
Empowered by big data and artificial intelligence technologies, traditional combat processes will be rebuilt intelligently, that is, from “situational awareness – command decision-making – attack and defense coordination – comprehensive support” to “intelligent cognition of global situation – human-machine integrated hybrid decision-making – manned/unmanned autonomous coordination – proactive on-demand precise support”. However, although the intelligent reconstruction of combat processes has improved the efficiency and accuracy of operations, it has also increased the risk of conflict and misjudgment.
First, wars that break out at “machine speed” will increase the risk of hasty actions. Artificial intelligence weapon systems have demonstrated strong capabilities in accuracy and response speed, making future wars break out at “machine speed”. ⑩ However, too fast a war will also increase the risk of conflict. In areas such as missile defense, autonomous weapon systems, and cyberspace that value autonomy and response speed, faster response speeds will bring huge strategic advantages, but will also greatly compress the time window for the defender to respond to military actions, causing combat commanders and decision makers to be under tremendous “time pressure”, exacerbating the risk of “hasty action” and increasing the possibility of accidental escalation of crises.
Second, reliance on system autonomy may increase the chance of misjudgment under pressure. The U.S. Department of Defense believes that “highly autonomous artificial intelligence systems can autonomously select and execute corresponding operations based on the dynamic changes in mission parameters, and efficiently achieve human preset goals. The increase in autonomy not only greatly reduces dependence on manpower and improves overall operational efficiency, but is also regarded by defense planners as a key factor in maintaining tactical leadership and ensuring battlefield advantage.” ⑪ However, since human commanders cannot respond quickly enough, they may gradually delegate control to autonomous systems, increasing the chance of misjudgment. In March 2003, the U.S. Patriot missile system mistakenly marked a friendly Tornado fighter as an anti-radiation missile. The commander chose to launch the missile under the pressure of only a few seconds to react, resulting in the death of two pilots. ⑫
Third, it weakens the effectiveness of the crisis termination mechanism. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union led the construction of a series of restrictive measures to curb the escalation of crises and prevent them from evolving into large-scale nuclear wars. In these measures, humans play a vital role as “supervisors”. When risks may get out of control, they can initiate termination measures in sufficient time to avoid large-scale humanitarian disasters. However, with the improvement of the computing power of artificial intelligence systems and their deep integration with machine learning, combat responses have become faster, more precise and destructive, and humans’ termination intervention mechanism for crises may be weakened.
War accountability is difficult and collateral casualties increase.
Artificial intelligence weapon systems make it more difficult to define responsibility for war. In traditional combat modes, weapons systems are controlled by humans. Once errors or crises occur, human operators or developers of operating systems will bear corresponding responsibilities. Artificial intelligence technology itself weakens human initiative and control capabilities, making the attribution of responsibility for technical behavior unclear.
The first is the problem of the “black box” of artificial intelligence. Although artificial intelligence has significant advantages in processing and analyzing data, its internal operating rules and causal logic are often difficult for humans to understand and explain, which makes it difficult for programmers to correct errors in the algorithm. This problem is often referred to as the “black box” of the algorithm model. Once the artificial intelligence weapon system poses a safety hazard, the “algorithm black box” may become a rational excuse for the relevant responsible parties to shirk responsibility. Those who pursue responsibility can only face generalized shirking and shirking of responsibility, and point the finger of responsibility at the artificial intelligence weapon system. In practice, if the decision-making process of artificial intelligence cannot be understood and explained, it may cause a series of problems, such as decision-making errors, trust crises, and information abuse.
The second is the division of responsibilities between humans and machines in military operations. When an AI system fails or makes a wrong decision, should it be considered an independent entity to bear responsibility? Or should it be considered a tool, with human operators bearing all or part of the responsibility? The complexity of this division of responsibilities lies not only in the technical level, but also in the ethical and legal levels. On the one hand, although AI systems can make autonomous decisions, their decision-making process is still limited by human preset procedures and algorithms, so their responsibilities cannot be completely independent of humans. On the other hand, AI systems may go beyond the preset scope of humans and make independent decisions in some cases. How to define their responsibilities at this time has also become a difficult problem in the field of arms control.
The third is the issue of the allocation of decision-making power between humans and artificial intelligence weapon systems. According to the different autonomous powers of the machine, the artificial intelligence system can perform tasks in three decision-making and control modes: semi-autonomous, supervised autonomous, and fully autonomous. In a semi-autonomous system, the decision-making power of the action is controlled by humans; in supervised autonomous actions, humans supervise and intervene when necessary; in fully autonomous actions, humans do not participate in the action process. With the gradual deepening of the military application of artificial intelligence, the role of humans in the combat system is undergoing a gradual transformation from the traditional “man in the loop” mode to the “man on the loop”, and humans have evolved from direct operators inside the system to supervisors outside the system. However, this transformation has also raised new problems. How to ensure that artificial intelligence weapon systems can still follow human ethics and values when operating independently is a major challenge facing the current field of artificial intelligence weapon research and development.
Lowering the threshold for proliferation leads to misuse and abuse.
Traditional strategic competition usually involves large-scale research and development and procurement of weapons systems, which requires a lot of money and technical support. After AI technology matures and spreads, it has the advantages of being easy to obtain and inexpensive. Even small and medium-sized countries may have the ability to develop advanced intelligent weapon systems. At present, strategic competition in the field of military AI is mainly concentrated between major military powers such as the United States and Russia. However, in the long run, the spread of AI technology will expand the scope of strategic competition and pose a destructive threat to the existing strategic balance. Once smaller countries that master AI technology have relatively strong competitiveness, their willingness to initiate confrontation when facing threats from major powers may increase.
First, artificial intelligence helps develop some lightweight and agile means of warfare, thereby encouraging some small and medium-sized countries or non-state actors to use it to carry out small, opportunistic military adventures, achieving their strategic goals at a lower cost and with more abundant channels. Second, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has made new forms of warfare such as cyber warfare and electronic warfare increasingly prominent. In a highly competitive battlefield environment, malicious third-party actors can influence military planning and strategic deterrence by manipulating information, leading to an escalation of the situation. In the Ukrainian crisis that broke out in 2022, a lot of false information was spread on the Internet to confuse the public. Third, the widespread application of artificial intelligence technology has also reduced strategic transparency. Traditional military strategies often rely on a large amount of intelligence collection, analysis and prediction, and with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology, combat planning and decision-making processes have become more complex and unpredictable. This opacity may lead to misunderstandings and misjudgments, thereby increasing the risk of escalating conflicts.
Governance Path for Security Risks of Weaponized Artificial Intelligence
To ensure the safe development of artificial intelligence and avoid the potential harm caused by its weaponization, we should strengthen international communication on governance strategies, seek consensus and cooperation among countries on the military application of artificial intelligence; promote dialogue and coordination on laws and regulations to form a unified and standardized legal framework; strengthen the constraints on artificial intelligence ethics to ensure that technological development complies with ethical standards; and actively participate in global security governance cooperation to jointly maintain peace and stability in the international community.
Attach great importance to strategic communication at the international level.
AI governance is a global issue that requires the concerted efforts of all countries to solve. On the international stage, countries have both mixed and conflicting interests. Therefore, dealing with global issues through effective communication channels has become the key to maintaining world peace and development.
On the one hand, we need to accurately grasp the challenges of international governance of AI. We need to grasp the consensus of various countries on the development of weaponized AI, pay close attention to the policy differences among countries in the security governance of weaponized AI applications, and coordinate relevant initiatives with the UN agenda through consultation and cooperation, so as to effectively prevent the military abuse of AI and promote the use of AI for peaceful purposes.
On the other hand, governments should be encouraged to reach relevant agreements and establish strategic mutual trust through official or semi-official dialogues. Compared with the “Track 1 Dialogue” at the government level, the “Track 1.5 Dialogue” refers to dialogues between government officials and civilians, while the “Track 2 Dialogue” is a non-official dialogue between scholars, retired officials, etc. These two forms of dialogue have higher flexibility and are important supplements and auxiliary means to official dialogues between governments. Through a variety of dialogue and communication methods, officials and civilians can widely discuss possible paths to arms control, share experiences and expertise, and avoid the escalation of the arms race and the deterioration of tensions. These dialogue mechanisms will provide countries with a continuous communication and cooperation platform, help enhance mutual understanding, strengthen strategic mutual trust, and jointly respond to the challenges brought about by the militarization of artificial intelligence.
Scientifically formulate laws and ethical norms for artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence technology itself is neither right nor wrong, good nor evil, but there are differences in good and bad intentions in the design, development, manufacturing, use, operation and maintenance of artificial intelligence. The weaponization of artificial intelligence has aroused widespread ethical concerns. Under the framework of international law, can autonomous weapon systems accurately distinguish between combatants and civilians on a complex battlefield? In addition, if artificial intelligence weapon systems cause unexpected harm, how to define the responsibility? Is it in line with moral and ethical standards to give machines the decision-making power of life and death? These concerns highlight the need to strengthen the ethical constraints of artificial intelligence.
On the one hand, we must insist on ethics first and integrate the concept of “intelligent for good” from the source of technology. In the design process of artificial intelligence military systems, values such as people-oriented and intelligent for good will be embedded in the system. The purpose is to eliminate the indiscriminate killing and injury that may be caused by artificial intelligence from the source, control its excessive lethality, and prevent accidental damage, so as to limit the damage caused by artificial intelligence weapon systems to the smallest possible range. At present, nearly 100 institutions or government departments at home and abroad have issued various artificial intelligence ethical principle documents, and academia and industry have also reached a consensus on the basic ethical principles of artificial intelligence. In 2022, China’s “Position Paper on Strengthening the Ethical Governance of Artificial Intelligence” submitted to the United Nations provided an important reference for the development of global artificial intelligence ethical supervision. The document clearly emphasizes that artificial intelligence ethical supervision should be promoted through institutional construction, risk control, collaborative governance and other measures.
On the other hand, we need to improve relevant laws and regulations and clarify the boundaries of rights and responsibilities of AI entities. We need to formulate strict technical review standards to ensure the security and reliability of AI systems. We need to conduct comprehensive tests before AI systems go online to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on human life and social order. We need to clarify the legal responsibilities of developers, users, maintainers and other parties throughout the life cycle of AI systems, and establish corresponding accountability mechanisms.
Pragmatically participate in international cooperation on artificial intelligence security governance.
The strategic risks brought about by the military application of artificial intelligence further highlight the importance of pragmatic cooperation in international security. It is recommended to focus on three aspects:
First, promote the formulation of guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in the military field. Formulating a code of conduct for the military application of artificial intelligence is an important responsibility of all countries to regulate the military application of artificial intelligence, and it is also a necessary measure to promote international consensus and comply with international laws and regulations. In 2021, the Chinese government submitted the “China’s Position Paper on Regulating the Military Application of Artificial Intelligence” to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Conference, and issued the “Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Initiative” in 2023. These have provided constructive references for improving the code of conduct for regulating the military application of artificial intelligence.
The second is to establish an applicable regulatory framework. The dual-use nature of AI involves many stakeholders. Some non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations, technology communities, and technology companies, will play a more prominent role in the global governance of AI and become an important force in the construction of a regulatory framework for the military application of AI. The technical regulatory measures that countries can take include: clarifying the scope of use of AI technology, responsible entities, and penalties for violations; strengthening technology research and development to improve the security and controllability of technology; establishing a regulatory mechanism to supervise the development and application of technology throughout the process, and promptly discover and solve problems.
Third, jointly develop AI security prevention technologies and solutions. Encourage bilateral or multilateral negotiations between governments and militaries to be included in the dialogue options for military AI applications, conduct extensive exchanges on military AI security prevention technologies, operating procedures and practical experience, promote the sharing and reference of relevant risk management technical standards and usage specifications, and continuously inject new stability factors into the international security mutual trust mechanism under the background of AI militarization.
(The author is the director, researcher, and doctoral supervisor of the National Defense Science and Technology Strategic Research Think Tank of the National University of Defense Technology; Liu Hujun, a master’s student at the School of Foreign Languages of the National University of Defense Technology, also contributed to this article)
三是創新未來作戰概念。作戰概念是對未來戰爭樣式與作戰方式進行的前瞻性研究，往往可牽引新的作戰力量編組及武器裝備跨越發展。美軍近年來提出「分散式殺傷」「多域戰」「馬賽克戰」等作戰概念，試圖引領軍事變革的發展方向。以“馬賽克戰”為例，該作戰概念將各種感測器、通訊網路、指揮控制系統、武器平台等視為“馬賽克碎片”，這些“碎片”單元在人工智慧技術賦能支援下，透過網路資訊系統可動態連結、自主規劃、協同組合，從而形成一個按需整合、極具彈性、靈活機動的殺傷網。 2022年3月，美國國防部發布《聯合全域指揮控制（JADC2）戰略實施計畫》，該計畫旨在將多域作戰向全局作戰概念拓展，將各軍種感測器連接到一個統一「物聯網」中，利用人工智慧演算法幫助改善作戰指揮決策。 ③
Modern war presents the explosive growth of battlefield information and new combat style. With the continuous emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and edge computing, a new generation of command information system is coming. Based on the international fourth generation command information system, this paper imagines the overall architecture of the fifth generation command information system, expounds the technical characteristics of its knowledge center, intelligent enabling, cloud edge integration, independent evolution and resilience adaptation, analyze its key technologies, continuously improves the battlefield information advantage, and transforms to the battlefield cognitive advantage, decision-making advantage and action advantage.
Abstract
Modern war presents the explosive growth of battlefield information and new combat style. With the continuous emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and edge computing, a new generation of command information system is coming. Based on the international fourth generation command information system, this paper imagines the overall architecture of the fifth generation command information system, expounds the technical characteristics of its knowledge center, intelligent enabling, cloud edge integration, independent evolution and resilience adaptation, analyze its key technologies, continuously improves the battlefield information advantage, and transforms to the battlefield cognitive advantage, decision-making advantage and action advantage.
Download CitationsZHANG Zhi-hua , WANG Fan . The Fifth Generation Command Information System and Its Intelligent Technology. Command Control and Simulation . 2021, 43(5): 1-7 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1673-3819.2021.05.001
Previous Article Next Article In his report to the 19th CPC National Congress, President Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that “we should accelerate the development of military intelligence and improve the joint combat capability and all-domain combat capability based on network information systems”
[ 1 ] . This statement indicates that future wars will be based on networked and intelligent system operations. The fifth-generation command information system will focus on intelligence, strengthen battlefield information advantages, and strive for battlefield cognitive advantages, decision-making advantages, and action advantages. According to relevant reports, the international command information system has gone through four stages of development
[ 2 ] and is evolving towards the fifth-generation command information system. The system architecture is developing towards intelligence, knowledge, cloud edge, and service. The fourth-generation system in the world mainly uses networking, service, and cloud to build an overall coordinated command information system
[ 2 ] , which meets the needs of coordinated operations to a certain extent and achieves information advantages. However, with the explosive growth of battlefield information, it is difficult to transform the system information advantage into the commander’s cognitive and decision-making advantages. With the emergence of new combat styles such as unmanned combat and cyber warfare, in order to adapt to the complexity and nonlinear characteristics of combat command, the command information system must break through cognitive technology and provide accurate battlefield situation cognition and planning and decision-making capabilities. The fifth-generation command information system is envisioned to be centered on artificial intelligence, edge computing, and cloud brain technology to enhance battlefield cognitive advantages, decision-making advantages, and action advantages, support combat command to move from the information domain to the cognitive domain, and realize capabilities such as information knowledge, intelligent decision-making, agile command and control, multi-domain collaboration, and edge services.
1 New Concept of Command and Control
1.1 Intelligent command and control
Intelligent command and control is to use artificial intelligence methods to achieve the transformation from “information-based, network-centric” to “intelligent, knowledge-centric”, and assist commanders in solving perception, understanding, and cognitive problems in the command field. The system architecture and technical architecture of the command information system will change. The system will apply corresponding intelligent technologies around functional domains such as situation, command, control, and support to improve the cognitive and decision-making efficiency of combat command. Foreign militaries pay great attention to the intelligent application of combat command. Since 2007, the US DARPA has published three white papers on national and military development strategies for artificial intelligence, and has launched plans such as “Deep Green”
[ 3 ⇓ – 5 ] , “The High-Tech Holy Grail of the Third Offset Strategy”, and “Commander’s Virtual Staff”. In the field of intelligence perception and tactical decision-making, it has launched artificial intelligence projects such as “Insight”, “Xdata”, “Deep Learning”, “Deep Text Search and Filtering”, “Distributed Battlefield Management”, “Human-Machine Collaboration”, “Mind’s Eye”, “Trace”, “Human-Machine Collaboration”, “X-Plan”, “Cognitive Electronic Warfare”, and “AlphaAI Air Combat”, realizing the ability to deeply understand battlefield intelligence, predict situation cognition, and automatically generate and deduce tactical plans. Since then, the U.S. military has also set up projects such as “Autonomous Negotiation Formation”, “Big Dog”, and “Hummingbird” to improve the manned and unmanned collaborative control capabilities. Overall, the U.S. military currently has the world’s leading level of intelligent combat command. In addition, Germany, France, Russia and other countries have also conducted extensive research in intelligent information perception and processing, intelligent autonomous unmanned combat platforms, etc., and have achieved fruitful research results
With the development of military technology, traditional large-scale cluster combat methods are gradually transformed into small-scale asymmetric combat. Combat activities at the tactical edge will play an important role in war. The tactical edge is also known as the “first tactical mile”
[ 9 ] . It is far away from the command center and has limited communication, computing, and service resources. It is usually composed of combat platforms, tactical units, and special forces. In order to gain information and decision-making advantages, command units at all levels use ubiquitous networks, micro-clouds, and other technologies to achieve information and resource sharing. Mobile computing devices at the tactical edge use fog computing methods to integrate into larger combat units and form micro-clouds under self-organizing networks. The large amount of situation information obtained by the tactical edge is calculated, stored, and shared in the tactical micro-cloud, which simplifies the scale of interaction with the command center, improves the timeliness of information interaction, and solves the problem of insufficient service capabilities at the tactical frontier in the past.
1.3 Multi-Domain Battle Command and Control
In 2016, the U.S. Army proposed the concept of “multi-domain warfare”
[ 10 ] , taking “synchronous cross-domain firepower” and “all-domain mobility” as core elements, promoting the high integration of combat elements, enhancing all-domain strike capabilities, and attempting to eliminate the “anti-access/area denial” capabilities of China, Russia and other countries. It mainly has the following three characteristics
[ 10 ] . First, the combat domain is expanded in multiple dimensions, enabling the U.S. Army to deploy forces from the ground to multiple combat domains such as sea, air, electricity, and the Internet, and has the ability to integrate with other services. Second, the combat elements are highly integrated, and the various services and combat functional domains can share information, coordinate tactics, and synchronize actions, which promotes the transformation of joint services to the integration of combat capability elements. Third, the command chain is developing in a flat direction, and the command mechanism is efficient and flexible. It is necessary to have centralized planning and decentralized execution, and to share information and instructions with various command nodes and individual soldiers, extend the tactical command chain, and realize rapid, multi-line, and multi-domain combat command.
1.4 Mosaic Combat Command and Control
In 2017, DARPA proposed the concept of “mosaic warfare”
[ 11-12 ] , which takes into account both ” threat-based” and “capability-based” equipment construction methods, and flexibly combines sensors, command and control nodes, combat platforms, and cooperative manned and unmanned systems in multiple combat domains on demand to form a mission system. System integration uses a building block approach to dynamically link dispersed fine-grained systems together to form a combat system similar to a “mosaic block”. “Mosaic warfare” uses intelligent decision-making tools to provide distributed situational awareness and adaptive planning and control, assist in combat mission planning, and implement distributed combat management. “Mosaic warfare” requires the replacement of fixed combat force composition with adaptive system reorganization, and the combat command has a resilient and adaptable information system that can customize physically dispersed mixed combat units on demand and meet various dynamic and collaborative combat requirements
2. Transformation of the Characteristics of the Fifth Generation Command Information System
1) The system shifts from network-centric to knowledge-centric. The network-centric approach brings battlefield information advantage, which is then transformed into cognitive advantage and decision-making advantage. The information sharing between systems shifts to knowledge-centric intelligence sharing, which promotes the transformation of the entire command system into decision-making and action advantage.2) The cloud architecture is transformed into cloud-edge-end integration. Expand the original cloud resource sharing capabilities
[ 2 ] and extend them to the platforms, teams, and individual soldiers at the tactical edge, realize the integrated hybrid service capabilities of the battlefield center cloud, mobile cloud, and edge micro-cloud in a mobile environment, and enhance the tactical frontier resource service capabilities.3) Transformation from scheduled integration to resilient adaptability. Currently, the system is deployed and operated according to preset rules. When the mission changes, it must be regulated according to the pre-planned plan. In the future, battlefield systems are vulnerable to attacks and paralysis, requiring the system to have the ability to self-reconstruct, resilient and adaptable when disturbances occur to ensure that the core mission is uninterrupted
[ 13-14 ] .4) Transformation from computational intelligence to cognitive intelligence. Intelligence is manifested in computational intelligence, perceptual intelligence, and cognitive intelligence. Currently, computational intelligence provides a tactical deterministic solution method. In the future battlefield, intelligent technology must be used to improve the accuracy and real-time degree of cognition in terms of massive intelligence processing, situational awareness, and decision-making reasoning.5) Performance changes from fixed fixed to autonomous learning evolution. The system’s algorithm and performance are generally determined and fixed during the design period, and performance improvement is achieved through upgrading and transformation. Intelligent systems have the ability of self-learning and self-evolution, and can learn algorithms for situational awareness and intelligent decision-making online to improve system performance.6) Construction shifts from capability-based to knowledge-based. Command information systems are generally constructed based on capability elements, and system integration is integrated based on capability elements. Intelligent systems pay more attention to the intellectual construction of the system, focusing on the construction of system knowledge, rules, algorithms, and data.7) The interaction mode will shift to human-machine fusion intelligent interaction. Human-machine fusion intelligent perception, anthropomorphic interaction, intention-oriented intelligent human-machine interface interaction, wearable human-machine fusion computing, and fusion and linkage interaction will become the main interaction mode of future systems, and the human-machine control system will progress towards human-machine fusion.8) The separation of combat and training has shifted to the integration of combat, training, exercise and research. The fifth-generation command information system tightly couples combat command and tactical training, and has parallel simulation and reasoning capabilities. It can not only update intelligent algorithms, but also conduct combat and tactics confrontation research, obtain tactical data, and promote algorithm learning. Exercise training has developed from war game simulation to battlefield virtual game.
3 Overall Architecture Concept
The overall architecture of the future fifth-generation command information system should be a command information system that is knowledge-centric, human-machine integrated, intelligently empowered, cloud-edge integrated, autonomously evolving, and resilient and adaptable. The following article mainly describes the overall system from the perspectives of system architecture, service architecture, and technical architecture
[ 15 ] . The system architecture mainly refers to the composition of the system’s logical elements and their relationships, the service architecture describes the integration model of information and computing resources between systems, and the technical architecture describes the system’s technical reference model.
3.1 System Architecture Concept
The system is changing from “information-based, network-centric” to “intelligent, knowledge-centric”, while extending to the tactical edge. Based on the original system integration, the system integrates knowledge and algorithms, applies intelligent technology in functional domains such as situation, command, control, and support, and improves the cognition and decision-making efficiency of combat command. The system architecture is envisioned as follows:
Figure 1 Conceptualization of the fifth-generation command information system architecture
第五代指揮資訊系統架構概念
The fifth-generation system expands the functional domain of parallel deduction and learning training on the basis of functional elements such as situational awareness, command decision-making, action control, support and guarantee, and information services to meet the needs of combat branch evaluation and algorithm learning. In terms of situational awareness, it covers computational intelligence, perceptual intelligence, and cognitive intelligence, mainly completing battlefield intelligence processing and target identification, understanding and predicting the situation, having state and momentum, and improving information advantage; in terms of command decision-making, it is mainly based on cognitive intelligence, which can machine tactical reasoning, generate plans and plans, and improve decision-making level; in terms of action control, it is mainly based on computational intelligence and cognitive intelligence, completing task monitoring and temporary tactical control, and providing action optimization strategies based on knowledge reasoning, such as command guidance, firepower coordination, and unmanned cluster intelligent control; in terms of comprehensive guarantee, it is mainly based on computational intelligence, completing the optimal allocation of battlefield resources under prior knowledge and rules; in terms of parallel deduction and learning training, it combines command and control with simulation training, trains personnel and algorithms in peacetime, and conducts parallel plan deduction in wartime.In addition, the fifth-generation system has an autonomous evolving learning mechanism: first, autonomous learning within the node to optimize the algorithm and knowledge base; second, the nodes share intelligent algorithms and knowledge through the command cloud to collaboratively complete the evolution. Each node can upload the learned algorithms and knowledge to the command cloud to update the algorithms and knowledge of the knowledge center; third, the system issues instructions to tactical nodes, weapon nodes, detection nodes, and combat support nodes, and collects execution feedback. These feedback results can be used to learn and evolve the algorithm.Between the fifth-generation systems, based on the original comprehensive integration based on the cloud/end architecture, an integrated sharing method for knowledge and intelligent algorithms has been added. Each command information system uploads intelligent algorithms and knowledge rules to the knowledge center for plug-and-play sharing by heterogeneous nodes such as battlefield detection, command, and weapons. The command information system can obtain existing intelligent knowledge from the knowledge center and conduct secondary learning and training in combination with its own battlefield data to improve algorithm capabilities. The command cloud will eventually form an intelligent knowledge center for the battlefield, and a battlefield knowledge network will be formed between the intelligent command information systems.
3.2 Concept of cloud-edge-device service architecture
In the future, ubiquitous network connections will extend from command units to various squads, individual soldiers, and platforms at the tactical edge. The fifth-generation command information system will use fog computing and distributed computing technologies to build tactical mobile clouds, squad micro-clouds (Cloudlet), and individual task group pico-clouds (Pico-Cloud) based on cloud architecture technology
[ 9 , 16 ] , forming tactical frontier mobile cloud service capabilities, realizing the hybrid service capabilities of battlefield centralized combat clouds, mobile tactical clouds, and edge micro-clouds and pico-clouds, forming an integrated resource service structure of “cloud, edge, and end”, and quickly building command chains and strike chains.
Concept of cloud-edge-end service architecture of the fifth-generation command information system
第五代指揮資訊系統雲端端服務架構構想
The cloud-edge-end integrated service capability supports the fifth-generation system to achieve dynamic aggregation and release of combat resources through “cloud deployment, cloud aggregation, cloud attack, and cloud dissipation”, thereby improving the combat effectiveness of the entire system
[ 17 ] . The centralized combat cloud is deployed in the command center in a fixed cloud manner
[ 16 ] to provide services for various combat nodes; air, land, and sea tactical clouds provide information, algorithms, computing, and storage services under mobile conditions for aircraft, ships, armored forces, and other forces at the tactical frontier, thereby improving the resource sharing level at the tactical frontier
[ 9 , 16 , 18-19 ] ; in tactical edge military operations, micro-clouds and pico – clouds are constructed. Micro-clouds are deployed in fog computing on vehicles, aircraft, and boats within one hop of the communication distance of the frontier contact unit, expanding the tactical information processing and sharing capabilities of the frontier unit personnel. When individual soldiers and units cannot access micro-clouds, mobile ad hoc networks and distributed computing technologies can be used to construct pico-clouds to support dynamic information aggregation and resource sharing end-to-end under weak connections at the tactical edge, thereby extending the command chain.
3.3 Technical Architecture Concept
The fifth-generation command information system will extend the war from the physical domain and information domain to the cognitive domain, and will change the way of command and control. Its technical architecture is as follows:
Technical architecture of the fifth-generation command information system
第五代指揮資訊系統技術架構
The fifth generation command information system adds tactical edge services and intelligent computing environments based on the networked computing environment of the fourth generation command information system, which is compatible with the system architecture and meets the intelligent requirements of the system. The tactical edge service computing environment provides micro-cloud and pico-cloud basic computing, storage, and information service platforms for weakly connected terminals; the intelligent computing environment provides intelligent services for situation, decision-making, control, and human-computer interaction.The intelligent technology environment layer includes the following five parts. The intelligent computing hardware platform is equipped with AI acceleration processors such as GPU, FPGA, and TPU to adapt to the computing power required by deep learning. Some algorithms use brain-like chips with neuron processing mechanisms or solidified dedicated intelligent computing chips; the intelligent data management platform mainly manages data, samples, cases, models, and knowledge; the deep learning framework integrates the runtime library and basic algorithm library of deep learning and reinforcement learning; the traditional artificial intelligence computing framework includes traditional algorithm support libraries such as spark and bigflow for search and solution, data mining, and parallel processing; intelligent services include application-oriented intelligent algorithm service libraries, such as intelligent interactive recognition, valuation network calculation, and strategy network calculation services, which provide solution interfaces for application development.The intelligent application layer mainly provides functional elements such as intelligent situational awareness, planning and decision-making, action control and information services, human-computer interaction, learning and training. It is the system’s main functional interface for users and the core problem that intelligence needs to solve.The fifth-generation system technology architecture model mentioned above mainly uses cloud computing and intelligent technology support services to achieve the sharing of situations, instructions, algorithms and knowledge between systems, and supports system autonomous evolution, algorithm upgrades and knowledge updates. System intelligence can be divided into levels 0 to 4
[ 20 ] . Level 0: full manual control; Level 1: computing intelligence, deterministic complex tactical calculations and information automation processing; Level 2: having certain perceptual intelligence, able to understand, evaluate and predict battlefield situations; Level 3: having cognitive intelligence, able to provide machine decision-making and decision-making deduction capabilities; Level 4: having human-machine integration and symbiosis capabilities, and the core algorithm can self-learn and self-evolve. At present, the intelligence level of the fourth-generation system is generally at level 1, and situation understanding and command decisions are still controlled by humans. The intelligence of the fifth-generation system can reach the fourth level through three stages. The first stage is to realize the ability to perceive, understand and evaluate the battlefield situation; the second stage is to build a knowledge base of tactics and enable machine decision-making based on rules, knowledge and algorithms; the third stage is to realize machine self-learning and self-evolution of core tasks, and have the function of autonomous decision-making, reaching a highly intelligent level of human-machine integration
4 Key technologies of the system and its intelligent concept
The key technologies of the fifth-generation command information system mainly solve the above – mentioned problems of intelligence, cloud – edge-end integration, and system resilience and adaptability. The key technologies of the system and its intelligent concept is the following
Key technologies of the system and its intelligent concept
系統關鍵技術及智慧化理念
The key technologies of the fifth-generation command information system cover all aspects of the command and control OODA loop, and can support the system’s intelligence, resilience, and edge command and control requirements in terms of detection, decision-making, control, and strike, thereby building a precise perception chain, rapid control chain, precise strike chain, and agile service chain, extending to the tactical edge and improving command effectiveness.
1) Situational Awareness Machine Analysis TechnologyIntelligence compilation and analysis technology.
Use big data, deep learning, knowledge graphs and other technologies to perform intelligent information correlation matching, text semantics intelligent analysis, and public opinion intelligent search and extraction to obtain valuable intelligence from massive, multi-source, and heterogeneous battlefield information.
Multiple target rapid recognition technology. Using deep learning methods, a multi-layer CNN convolutional neural network is constructed, and sample feature parameter learning is used to complete feature extraction and rapid target recognition of optical, infrared, electromagnetic, and acoustic information.Situation recognition and understanding technology. Analyze the enemy’s combat intentions and combat capabilities, use the reinforcement learning valuation network technology to simulate the commander’s situation recognition process, and combine the CNN nonlinear battlefield situation fitting ability to establish a mapping from situation images to situation understanding
Situation machine prediction and assessment technology. Based on situation understanding, the enemy’s tactical behavior is estimated. First, the strategy network is used to obtain the enemy’s activity rules, and then the parallel deduction method is used to perform multi-branch situation deduction. Finally, a prediction network is constructed to predict the situation.
Combat mission space and strategy modeling technology. Modeling the state and action strategy of the combat mission space and determining the description method of the mission state, strategy, and feedback are the basis for deep reinforcement learning to make decisions.Mission planning machine decision-making technology. Use operations optimization to complete target analysis and task allocation. Use deep reinforcement learning and swarm intelligence algorithms to machine plan force composition, firepower configuration, and collaborative paths. Tactical planning tends to be rule-based reasoning and easy to break through; campaign planning tends to be knowledge-based reasoning based on experience, involving the art of command, and is more difficult to break through.
Parallel simulation technology for combat plans. With reference to the parallel simulation technology of the “deep green” system the Monte Carlo search tree and game test method are used to simulate enemy combat behavior, rehearse and evaluate the action process, and accumulate feedback reward and punishment functions for learning, training, and decision optimization.
Intelligent generation technology of combat plans. Using intelligent perception algorithms such as natural language understanding, voice command recognition, and sketch recognition, combined with the extraction of elements from the task model, the knowledge graph is used to automatically extract the plan to generate combat plans and command sequences .
Rapid decision-making technology on the spot. Based on the current situation, using the learning data accumulated by the game platform, automatically matching the most appropriate plan adjustment, making dynamic decisions on the plan based on Monte Carlo tree search and transfer learning algorithms, reverse reinforcement learning, and enhancing the generalization ability of the plan.3) Intelligent motion control technologySituation-based improvisation control technology. According to the effects and deviations of combat operations, the resources, paths, and coordination modes of the mission are dynamically adjusted, and parallel simulation multi-branch deduction and reinforcement learning technology are used to correct the deviations, thus realizing tactical “feedforward” control .
Swarm intelligence collaborative control technology. Promote the maximization of the overall effectiveness of battlefield intelligent bodies in collaborative operations, use ant colony and bee colony control algorithms and deep reinforcement learning methods to build a global tactical value network, establish an effect feedback model, and perform strategic control based on the value network.Firepower collaborative control technology. Improve the speed and accuracy of friend-or-foe identification, firepower allocation, and collaborative dispatch, use swarm intelligence and deep reinforcement learning algorithms to automatically plan, coordinate and optimize the strike chain, and have a certain degree of autonomous decision-making ability.
Multi-domain cluster system autonomous collaborative machine planning technology. Use branch search solution, knowledge reasoning, and deep reinforcement learning to plan and allocate collaborative tasks for manned/unmanned systems, and use swarm intelligence optimization algorithms to plan collaborative trajectories for unmanned and manned platforms.Multi-domain cluster system autonomous collaborative command and control technology. It monitors the missions of unmanned clusters and provides autonomous collaborative command and guidance. It uses swarm intelligence algorithms to detect conflicts and avoid collisions among multiple unmanned platforms, and coordinates grouping, routing, and load.
5) Intelligent information service technology.
Intelligent battlefield information sharing technology uses reinforcement learning and semantic association technology to analyze users’ information needs and preferences, generate information needs based on users’ differentiated characteristics, and intelligently push tactical information to users.
Human-computer fusion intelligent perception interaction technology. Construct multi-channel human-computer interaction methods including sketches, spoken language, gestures, head postures, expressions, eye movements, etc., and provide natural, sensitive, accurate and anthropomorphic interaction strategies . Intention-oriented intelligent human-computer interface technology. Using FCM fuzzy cognitive interactive reasoning technology, infer the user’s interactive intention, and organize the interactive interface output by integrating different means such as spoken language, gestures, sketches, and natural language according to the user’s interface needs and interaction preferences.Smart wearable human-machine fusion technology. It uses edge computing technology and new human-machine interaction methods such as voice, gestures, eye movements, brain-computer interfaces, and augmented reality to provide soldiers with smart wearable devices that have a collaborative, integrated, and linked human-machine interaction mode.
7) Virtual gaming and training evaluation technology.
The combat virtual game technology builds a game confrontation test platform, conducts combat knowledge modeling, and uses parallel simulation, branch decision, differential confrontation and other technologies to conduct red-blue confrontation, which not only trains tactics and methods, but also collects tactical data.Machine training and evaluation technology uses the data accumulated by the game platform and the experience of personnel to model, adopts small sample transfer learning technology to train and optimize the algorithm, replays the real data afterwards, performs transfer learning optimization on the decision model, and updates the decision plan.
8) System resilience adaptive reconstruction technology.
Environmental perception and autonomous fault detection technology. Under soft and hard damage, it can detect the main faults and analyze abnormal correlations, predict the occurrence of faults that affect task execution, evaluate the impact of faults on tasks, and realize active perception and rapid location of system resources and faults.System self-healing and reconstruction intelligent technology. When key nodes of the system fail, an adaptive mechanism is used to reallocate resources, achieve capacity regeneration, and continuously ensure the completion of core tasks. The system changes from a fault repair method with preset rules and manual participation to an intelligent system reconstruction method.
9) Tactical edge computing technology.
Mobile micro-cloud service platform technology. Deployed in fog computing mode on vehicles, aircraft, and boats within one hop of the enemy, it provides shared processing capabilities for combat teams and expands the tactical information processing capabilities of team members.Pi-cloud resource sharing technology under weak connection ad hoc network. Based on the individual soldier ad hoc network, the Pi-cloud is constructed using distributed computing technology to support end-to-end autonomous collaborative information sharing and resource sharing between individual soldier mobile devices under weak connection to meet tactical edge needs.
5 Development ideas and ideas
1) Gradually progress in stages, starting with the easy and then moving on to the difficult. In the first stage, image, voice, gesture, face recognition, and natural language understanding are applied to intelligence analysis; in the second stage, deep learning and reinforcement learning are applied to situational awareness and command decision-making; in the third stage, cloud computing is used to realize a knowledge-centered, intelligently empowered system.
2) Select intelligent algorithms for application. Focusing on the application of deep learning in situation and deep reinforcement learning in planning and decision-making, select appropriate tactical backgrounds to verify intelligent algorithms. Tactical-level planning of paths, firepower, tasks, etc. can be used as breakthroughs.
3) Strengthen the construction of knowledge engineering in the field of combat command. Expert rules, military regulations, and actual combat data are the basis of intelligent command. The existing combat rules should be modeled and represented in a knowledge-based manner, and the input and output mapping relationship between knowledge representation and deep learning should be established. The research on knowledge learning and knowledge reasoning methods should be strengthened .
4) Establish a virtual confrontation game platform to accumulate data. Intelligent algorithms require a large number of learning samples. The ways to accumulate samples are: Establish a confrontation game platform to conduct war games, human-machine confrontation, and red-blue confrontation to accumulate data; Collect tactical data from actual combat exercises and build models as training samples.
6 Conclusion
This paper proposes the overall and intelligent concept of the fifth-generation command information system, constructs a new generation of command information system architecture with “intelligent empowerment, human-machine integration, cloud-edge integration, autonomous evolution, cloud-intelligence sharing, and resilience and adaptability”, analyzes its key technologies and capability characteristics, and attempts to achieve cognitive advantages, decision-making advantages, and action advantages based on the fourth-generation system in the world .
There are not many technical verifications for the fifth-generation system in the world, so we should not rush for quick success and still need to conduct sufficient research.
Adapt to the general trend of technological development and seize the high point of future war system ——
Artificial intelligence is a collective term for cutting-edge technology groups such as big data, automated decision-making, machine learning, image recognition, and spatial situational awareness. The “ cognitive burden ” that liberates human intelligent fitness enables technology users to obtain prophets, preemptive, Preemptive decision-making action advantage. As “ power multiplier ” and “ the basis for future combat ”, artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape future war patterns, change the country’s traditional security territory, impact existing military technology development patterns, and reconstruct future operations The system and military power system have become important leading forces in the future battlefield.
With the rapid development of technology and the continuous pace of competition, major countries have launched their own artificial intelligence development plans, and accelerated the transformation of organizational mechanisms, scientific and technological research and development, and tactical tactical innovation, promote the use of artificial intelligence military, and seize future war commanding heights.
Speed up organizational innovation
Promote technology conversion applications
Unlike traditional technology, the research and development and transformation of artificial intelligence have its own characteristics. The institutional setting and operation of the traditional defense system make it difficult to adapt to the needs of rapid development of artificial intelligence. To this end, the military of relevant countries has vigorously carried out organizational reforms and innovations, removed institutional obstacles in the process of research and development of artificial intelligence technologies, and accelerated the transformation and application of related technologies.
Emphasize that “ is close to ”. The UK is mainly based on “ Defense Data Office ” and “ Digital Integration and Defense Artificial Intelligence Center ”, integrating energy efficiency such as route planning, specification setting, technical governance and asset development, and breaking down restrictions on the development and application of artificial intelligence technologies Administrative obstacles. The United States is based on the “ Strategic Competency Office ” and “ Chief Numbers and Artificial Intelligence Officer ”, and uses the Army’s Future Command as a pilot to integrate decentralized functions such as theoretical development, technology development, and equipment acquisition. Together, the focus is on “ Digging potential efficiency ” to strengthen the innovative use of existing platforms, while In order to effectively balance real needs with long-term development.
Pay attention to “ research conversion ”. The use of artificial intelligence in the military field will have a profound impact on battlefield methods, tactical tactical choice, etc. Russia has established “ Preliminary Research Foundation ” and “ National Robot Technology R&D Center ” and other institutions to guide the design, research and development and application of Russian military industrial and intelligent technology to improve the practical transformation of scientific research results rate. The United States has set up “ Joint Artificial Intelligence Center ”, relying on “ National Mission Plan ” and “ Military Type Mission Plan ”, focusing on coordinating military-site collaborative innovation and technological achievements transformation to promote artificial intelligence Wide application of the US Department of Defense and various services.
Focus on “ military-civilian integration ”. Russia has set up “Tech City ” and other institutions in Anapa and other places. Based on the “ Advanced Research Foundation ”, it fully absorbs military personnel, actively builds technological production clusters and research clusters, and effectively expands military personnel. Two-way communication mechanism. By setting up “ National Defense Innovation Test Group ” and other institutions in Silicon Valley and other places, the United States can directly enter high-level decision-making by relying on “ National Defense Innovation Committee”. France has established technical research and development institutions such as the Innovation Defense Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Division in the Ministry of National Defense, aiming to solicit private capital investment and cooperation in defense projects to improve scientific research energy efficiency.
Highlight “ combination of technology ”. The Israel Defense Forces established the Digital Transformation System Architecture Department to fully demonstrate new technologies, new theories, and new concepts based on the specific effects of the organic integration of various systems into various military services to determine the corresponding technology research and development priorities and strategic development directions. The United States has re-established the positions of Deputy Secretary of Defense Research and Engineering, created chief numbers and artificial intelligence officers to enhance the control of defense technology innovation and application, and relied on theoretical methods such as red and blue confrontation, analog deduction, and net assessment analysis. New ideas, new ideas, and new methods are tested in practice to select various types of technology research and development focus and strategic tactical attack directions, Achieve benign interaction between technological development and theoretical innovation.
Set up a project for military needs
Seize the opportunity for future development
In recent years, various military powers have aimed at the development of artificial intelligence frontier technology, and have established extensive projects in the fields of situational awareness, data analysis, intelligence reconnaissance, and unmanned combat, with the intention of seizing future development opportunities.
Situation awareness field. Situational awareness in the traditional sense refers to the collection and acquisition of battlefield information by means of satellite, radar, and electronic reconnaissance. However, under the conditions of “ mixed warfare ”, which is ambiguous in peace, unity of soldiers, internal outreach, and integration of all regions, the role of situational awareness in non-traditional fields such as human domain, social domain, and cognitive domain has received unprecedented attention. The US “ Computable Cultural Understanding ” project aims to process multi-source data through natural language processing technology to achieve cross-cultural communication; the “ compass ” project aims to extract cases from unstructured data sources, Integrate key information and respond to different types of “ gray zone ” actions. The French “ Scorpion ” Combat System project aims to use intelligent information analysis and data sharing platforms to enhance the fire support effectiveness of the French’s existing frontline mobile combat platform to ensure the safety of operational personnel.
Data analysis field. Relying on artificial intelligence technology to improve intelligent data collection, identification analysis and auxiliary decision-making capabilities can transform information advantages into cognitive and action advantages. Russia’s “ Combat Command Information System ” aims to provide commanders with multiple types of action plans by using artificial intelligence and big data technology to analyze the battlefield environment. The British “THEIA program ” and the French “The Forge” digital decision support engine are designed to enhance the information processing capabilities of command control, intelligence gathering, etc., and improve the commander’s ability to control complex battlefields. And command effectiveness.
Intelligence reconnaissance field. Compared with traditional intelligence reconnaissance, the use of artificial intelligence algorithms to collect and process intelligence has the advantages of fast access to information, wide content sources, and high processing efficiency. The Japan Self-Defense Force satellite intelligent monitoring system aims to identify and track foreign vessels in the vicinity of key waters that may “ infringe ” their territorial waters. U.S. military “ complex combat environment causal exploration ” project, which aims to use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to process multi-source information to assist commanders in understanding the cultural drivers, root causes, and factors behind the war; “ Marvin ” The project uses machine learning algorithms, human face recognition technology, etc. to screen and list various suspicious targets from the full dynamic video, Provide technical support for counter-terrorism operations.
No one is fighting. In some technologically advanced countries, the unmanned combat system is maturing and the equipment species spectrum system is becoming more and more perfect. The Israeli M-RCV unmanned combat vehicle can perform diversified tasks such as unmanned reconnaissance, fire strike, carrying and recycling drones under all terrain and full-time conditions. The Russian army “ Outpost-R” UAV system with integrated capabilities can detect, track, and strike military targets in real time. It also has certain anti-reconnaissance and anti-interference capabilities and has been inspected on the battlefield. The US military “ Future Tactical UAV System ” project aims to comprehensively enhance the effectiveness of the US Army in performing reconnaissance and surveillance, auxiliary aiming, war damage assessment, and communications relay operations.
Adapt to future battlefield changes
Continuously explore new ways of warfare
In order to adapt to the tremendous changes in the battlefield environment in the intelligent era, relevant countries have explored a series of new warfare methods by enhancing the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence in key military decisions and operations.
Algorithmic warfare, that is, relying on big data and artificial intelligence technology, to give full play to the powerful potential of combat networks, human-machine collaboration, and autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons, so that the cycle cycle of “ observation-adjustment-decision-action” Always lead the opponent, thereby destroying the enemy’s combat plan and achieving preemption. In December 2015, the Russian army relied on the unmanned reconnaissance and intelligent command information system to guide the ground unmanned combat platform to cooperate with the Syrian government forces to quickly eliminate 77 armed elements within the target range at the cost of 4 minor injuries. In 2021, the US Air Force conducted a test flight of the first intelligent drone “ Air Borg ”, marking a further advancement of the US military algorithm warfare.
Unmanned warfare, guided by a saturated number of attacks and a low-cost war of system attack and defense operations, strives to achieve full-scale posture tracking, dynamic deterrence, and tactical suppression of the enemy defense system through human-computer coordination and group combat models. In May 2021, the Israeli army used artificial intelligence to assist the drone bee colony in the conflict with the Hamas armed group, which played an important role in determining the enemy’s position, destroying the enemy’s target, and monitoring the enemy’s dynamics. In October 2021 and July 2022, the US military launched a drone targeted air strike in northwestern Syria, killing Abdul Hamid Matar, a high-level leader of the “ base ” organization, and the extremist organization “ Islamic State ” Leader Agel.
Distributed warfare, based on artificial intelligence unlimited command and control capabilities and new electronic warfare methods, using shallow footprints such as special forces, low-characteristics, and fast-paced forces to form small groups of mobile formations, spreading infiltration into combat in a multi-diameter multi-domain manner Area, continue to break the shortboard and chain dependence of the enemy system, increasing the difficulty of its fire saturation attack. In this process, “ people are commanding and machines are controlling ”. In recent years, the US military has successively launched “ Golden Tribe ”“ Flexible Network Distributed Marseille Communication ” and other “ distributed operations ” scientific research projects.
Fusion warfare, relying on network quantum communication and other means to build a “ combat cloud ” that is resistant to interference and high rates, in order to eliminate the technical barriers of military data chain interconnection, interconnection and interoperability, and achieve deep integration of combat power. In 2021, the joint general basic platform developed by the United States Artificial Intelligence Center officially possessed initial operational capabilities, which will help the US military break down data barriers and significantly improve data sharing capabilities. During the NATO “ Spring Storm ” exercise held in Estonia in 2021, the British army used artificial intelligence technology to perform intelligent analysis and automated processing of battlefield information of various services, which improved the integration of arms and strengthened joint command and control effectiveness.
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”.
The metaverse is an artificial online virtual world that is born out of, parallel to, and independent of the real world. It is parallel to the real world, reacts to the real world, and integrates a variety of high technologies. These are the three major characteristics of the future metaverse. The operation of the metaverse conforms to the natural laws of human understanding and transformation of the world, and provides a new way of thinking to understand and discover the operating behavior, state, and laws of complex real systems, as well as a new means to explore objective laws and transform nature and society. Researching the application of the metaverse in the field of foreign military training and analyzing the opportunities and challenges that the metaverse brings to the field of military training have important theoretical and practical value in solving the key problems that need to be solved in military training in the intelligent era, promoting scientific and technological training, and promoting the innovative development of military training models.
Background of Cognitive Metaverse Empowered Military Training
The scientific and technological revolution has given rise to a new ecology of military training. Driven by the new scientific and technological revolution and the industrial revolution, cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things have accelerated their development. Technology giants have laid out the metaverse, and human real life has migrated to the virtual world more rapidly. The metaverse integrates a variety of emerging technologies, thus generating new Internet applications and new social forms that integrate the virtual and the real. Perception technology supports the integration of the virtual and the real in the metaverse, “AI+” technology supports the social nature of the metaverse, data transmission technology supports the real-time nature of the metaverse, electronic game technology supports the diversity of the metaverse, digital twin technology supports the sustainability of the metaverse, and blockchain technology supports the security of the metaverse. The future metaverse, where virtual and real are highly interconnected, is born out of, parallel to, and independent of the real world. It integrates all elements such as the Internet, virtual reality, immersive experience, blockchain, and digital twins to build a new basic ecology for intelligent military training.
The evolution of war has dominated the transformation and upgrading of military training. With the advent of the intelligent era, the war situation has accelerated its evolution towards informationization and intelligence. The informationized warfare system with “information acquisition and utilization as the core” will gradually transition to the intelligent warfare system with “intelligent simulation and expansion as the core”. The trend of long-range precision, intelligence, stealth, and unmanned weapons and equipment has become more obvious, and intelligent warfare has surfaced. At the same time, combat elements represented by artificial intelligence such as “AI, cloud, network, group, and terminal” and their diversified combinations have formed a new battlefield ecology. The metaverse has constructed a new battlefield space where virtual and real are integrated and parallel interactions occur. The traditional war winning mechanism is being profoundly changed. The development and changes in the form of intelligent warfare have compulsorily driven the transformation and reshaping of the military’s thinking and concepts, requiring the accelerated transformation and upgrading of military training, greater attention to the impact of technological development and changes on warfare, and the use of the “new engine” of training and warfare to achieve “accelerated” preparations.
Foreign militaries explore breakthroughs in military training models. In order to seize the strategic commanding heights of military intelligence, the world’s military powers attach great importance to the innovation of military training models. Some countries have begun to try to apply the metaverse and related technologies to military training. For example, the United States has successively released the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Department of Defense Transformation Plan, focusing on building an “all-round army” and forming a “full spectrum advantage”. It has also simultaneously formulated the Training Transformation Strategic Plan and the Training Transformation Implementation Plan, and proposed the concept of a comprehensive training environment (STE), the core of which is immersive and integrated virtual training, which intends to integrate real-time, virtual, constructive and gaming environments into a comprehensive training environment. Russia also attaches great importance to the development of virtual training systems. Almost all of its advanced weapons and equipment are equipped with corresponding virtual training systems, and are moving towards universalization and embedding. The United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, etc. are also actively developing various professional military training virtual environments. Intelligent training supported by technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality is gradually becoming the mainstream of military training research in powerful countries.
Clarifying the Advantages of Metaverse-Enabled Military Training
The emergence of new concepts in military training. Only by leading the opponent in thought can we gain the upper hand in action. The emergence of disruptive technologies will inevitably rewrite the current military training rules and systems, and will also innovate the existing military training thinking concepts. On the one hand, the metaverse has set off a hurricane-like “brainstorm”, and the training thinking led by “intelligence” has organically connected training with actual combat, and upgraded to intelligent military training thinking. On the other hand, new technologies and new means represented by the metaverse empower military training, strengthen the concept of winning by science and technology and intelligent drive, and greatly improve the scientific and technological content of military training, in order to control the initiative in future wars. In the future, the metaverse will create more impossible possibilities by constructing a virtual battlefield space, designing wars and evolving wars.
Innovate new theories of military training. War is the area that needs innovation the most. Military training must adapt to the development of intelligent warfare, and theoretical innovation and training practice must be driven by both. Training transformation will not happen automatically. It requires not only a sharp and profound foresight to grasp the general trend, but also a scientific, powerful and solid theory to drive forward. On the one hand, by keeping up with the development of the times and starting from new concepts and new cognition, we can build a scientific theoretical system for metaverse-enabled military training. On the other hand, by following the laws of combat-training coupling, we can establish an innovative model of intelligent military training theory with the characteristics of the times, allowing the metaverse to empower and improve the efficiency of promoting the iterative development of military training transformation.
Transform the new military training model. The combat style determines the training mode, and intelligent warfare changes the “rules of the game”. Military training for the next war must adapt to the requirements of future wars by changing the training mode. First, it can build an intelligent blue army with “both form and spirit”. With the help of optimized AI technology, powerful computing power support, and realistic performance simulation, the Metaverse follows the evolutionary process of “knowing the enemy, imitating the enemy, surpassing the enemy, and defeating the enemy” to create an intelligent blue army with platform support and data empowerment, and carry out “real” confrontation training and effect evaluation in the Metaverse space. Second, it can carry out new domain and new quality combat training. The metaverse expands the practical application path with new domains and new types of combat forces as the leading elements, highlights the research and development of training methods and tactics that are compatible with advanced combat concepts and winning mechanisms, and creates new forms of training such as unmanned and seamless human-machine collaboration, becoming a new point of combat power growth. Third, it can cultivate new types of military talents. At present, the educational metaverse has led the intelligent transformation of education. In the future, the military metaverse will accelerate the realization of intelligent interaction between people and equipment, deep integration between people and systems, and adaptive evolution between people and the environment, and promote the integrated development of “commanders” and “fighters” into “scientists” and “technicians.”
Reshape the new ecology of military training. The multi-dimensional perception, virtual-real integration, free creativity, and open development of the metaverse will make the future metaverse a fully immersive, time-transcending, self-creating and developing space. First, create a digital twin “battlefield metaverse”. The “battlefield metaverse” will be a typical manifestation of the metaverse in the military field, with stricter security and confidentiality standards, stronger simulation computing capabilities, and more real-time and detailed interaction requirements. Secondly, create a full-dimensional three-dimensional metaverse training environment. The metaverse uses technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality to create an immersive and complex scene environment; using powerful data and network support, it builds a full-dimensional space such as land, sea, air, space, electricity, and the Internet. Furthermore, a Metaverse verification platform for weapons and equipment will be built. The platform will have functions such as new weapon and equipment design demonstration, weapon and equipment performance test, weapon and equipment compatibility test, and weapon system combat effectiveness test. In the future, the Metaverse will greatly shorten the timeline for weapons and equipment to go from “weak intelligence” to “strong intelligence” and then to “super intelligence”, realizing the intelligence multiplication effect of weapons and equipment.
Grasping the Key Points of Metaverse-Enabled Military Training
Focus on top-level design. From the perspective of the development of things, the metaverse is a new thing, and its maturity has yet to be verified. Intelligent military training is also a complex, arduous and long-term system engineering, which requires strengthening strategic planning and top-level layout. We should pay close attention to the development trends and technological trends of the metaverse, and scientifically formulate the development plan of the “training metaverse”. In the context of the integration of intelligence, informatization and mechanization, we should give full play to the outstanding advantages of the metaverse, such as enabling trainees to undergo immersive experiential training, so that the metaverse can not only be a display platform for virtual technology, but also a practical platform for improving the effectiveness of military training.
Strengthen technology research and development. From a technical perspective, the Metaverse has reintegrated existing technologies in the information and intelligent technology group, proposed an overall innovative concept, and provided comprehensive application scenarios, thereby giving birth to new vitality. To accelerate the development of the “training Metaverse”, we must speed up the research on basic software and hardware technologies such as algorithm engines and network communications, strengthen the research and development capabilities of core technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, and at the same time strengthen the overall technical design and research and development of the Metaverse, such as immersion, sociality, openness, collaboration, and decentralization.
Create training types. From the perspective of time and space, the metaverse may create a vast virtual war space, recreate the war environment, present the war process, and virtualize the future of war. An intelligent military training operation system based on the metaverse should be built, military training concepts should be updated in a timely manner, and innovations in military training models, management support, and legal mechanisms should be deepened. A dynamic and high-level combat-oriented military training environment based on the metaverse should be built to fully support strategic, campaign, and tactical training as well as war simulations. At the same time, in the process of “intelligent adaptation” of military training, we will achieve the expansion of wisdom and intelligent evolution towards the unknown space of military training with “innovation, openness, diversified iteration, and new intelligent ecology”.
Attach importance to risk prevention and control. From the perspective of safety and controllability, the concept and technology of the Metaverse brings innovative opportunities to intelligent military training, but the potential risks associated with the technology itself cannot be ignored. The Metaverse is a huge technology group, and its system architecture, key technologies, and application environment are still in the development and implementation stage. The supporting protection system, safety technology, and management standards will bring security risks. In addition, the integrated application of various emerging technologies in the construction process, the complexity and confidentiality in the application process will be the unknown factors for the key prevention and risk challenges of the Metaverse in military training.
At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and military revolution is developing rapidly. Disruptive technologies represented by artificial intelligence are accelerating the evolution of war to intelligent warfare. Winning intelligent warfare has gradually become the focus of military competition among powerful countries. As a pre-practice of war, military training should take a new step towards intelligence in a timely manner, realize the transformation to “intelligence”, train soldiers with “intelligence”, continuously improve the scientific and technological level and “intelligence content” of military training, and help accelerate the generation of intelligent combat capabilities.
Keeping up with the changes in the war situation, upgrading the concept of intelligent training
With the acceleration of the intelligent era, high-tech has been widely used in the military field, which is causing major changes in the concept, elements and methods of winning wars. The size of the army and the number of equipment are no longer the key to winning a war. It is imperative to upgrade the war thinking and training concepts. We should follow the development trend of intelligence with a more proactive attitude and a more open vision, and advocate new thinking in intelligent military training.
Grasp the internal mechanism of intelligent victory. The winning mechanism is the manifestation of the internal laws of war. Driven by the intelligent revolution, driven by strategic competition, and guided by war practice, the advantages of information-generated intelligence and intelligence-enabled capabilities are becoming increasingly apparent, reflected in actuarial science, jointness, systems, and other aspects. To a certain extent, it can be said that the higher the “intelligence”, the higher the quality level of combat and training can be. Therefore, an army whose training thinking remains at the mechanized level will never be able to keep up with the pace of intelligent warfare no matter how it is trained. We should have a “brain storm” with the courage of self-revolution, upgrade the concept of intelligent warfare, strengthen the theoretical research of intelligent training, deal with the problems of mechanized, informationized, and intelligent warfare with the thinking of training troops with “intelligence”, organically connect training and fighting, design wars with advanced technology, and rehearse wars with intelligent means, so as to clear up the fog of intelligent warfare.
Establish the goal of “strengthening the strong”. At present, the military of developed countries is implementing a training transformation with an emphasis on intelligence, trying to further widen the gap in combat power with the military of other countries. Once the military gap is widened, it will be difficult to make up. If you can’t keep up, you may be completely controlled by others. Only by keeping a close eye on the opponent can you surpass the opponent. We must highlight the goal of “strengthening the strong” in military training, and improve the level of military intelligence and asymmetric combat capabilities in training.
Strengthen the goal positioning of science and technology empowerment. Science and technology are the core combat power. Driven by science and technology, the combat power form has leaped from mechanical energy type and information energy type to intelligent type. Traditional siege-style large-scale troop operations are gradually withdrawing from the historical stage, and cutting-edge competition in high-tech and emerging fields is becoming increasingly fierce. If military training does not improve its scientific and technological content, it will only be able to linger at a low level and it will be difficult to open the door to intelligent warfare. To this end, we should firmly establish the concept of winning through science and technology, firmly grasp scientific and technological innovation, the “life gate” and “key point” to winning future wars, greatly improve the scientific and technological content of military training, and increase the practical application of new technologies and new means such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data, so as to unveil the mystery of intelligent warfare and control the initiative in future wars.
Keep up with the changes in technological development and strengthen intelligent training conditions
Intelligent training conditions are the basic support for organizing and implementing intelligent military training, and are directly related to the quality and effectiveness of intelligent training. To build an intelligent training environment, we need to keep a close eye on the development of intelligent concepts, intelligent technology, and intelligent warfare, and continue to work hard in building a training environment, innovating training methods, and cultivating new talents.
Construct a realistic battlefield environment. Intelligent warfare has a wider space, a wider range of fields, and more diverse methods. The battlefield environment construction under the conditions of simple mechanization and informatization can no longer support the needs of intelligent training. We should highlight the elite confrontation, rapid confrontation, and joint confrontation under the support of intelligent conditions, fully tap the potential of existing training methods and training venues, strengthen the application of technologies such as big data analysis, smart wearable devices, and machine “deep learning”, and effectively integrate various fields such as land, sea, air, space, electricity, and the Internet. For example, use digital maps, virtual reality and other technologies to simulate and display intuitive three-dimensional terrain, weather and complex combat situations, and construct vivid and realistic intelligent actual combat scenes.
Develop advanced training methods. Advanced training methods are helpful to improve training effectiveness. Intelligent military training should grasp the key factor of intelligent “data-centricity” and transform the latest scientific and technological achievements into training conditions. We should focus on strengthening data linkage and integration, creating a “data pool” covering strategy, campaign, and tactics, and connecting command organizations to end-users; developing data intelligent analysis tools, integrating and mining combat data with the help of advanced technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence; developing intelligent training systems, increasing the construction of simulation training methods such as simulation, war game confrontation, network confrontation, and intelligent decision-making, and overall promoting the transformation and upgrading of military training methods to “technology +” and “intelligence +”.
Cultivate new military talents. No matter how the war situation evolves, people are always the real controllers and final decision-makers of war. The quality of military personnel’s intelligence level determines the quality and effect of intelligent training to a certain extent. To win the information-based local war with intelligent characteristics, we should accurately match future military needs, strengthen the intelligent training of traditional combat force talents, make good use of “technology +”, “maker +”, “think tank +” power resources, promote the integrated development of “commanders”, “combatants” and “scientists” and “technicians”, and forge a new type of professional and intelligent military talent group to achieve intelligent interaction between people and equipment, deep integration between people and systems, and extensive adaptation between people and the environment.
Strengthen support for intelligent equipment. At present, the world’s major military powers attach great importance to the development of intelligent equipment. New equipment such as unmanned “swarms” and unmanned submarines are emerging in an endless stream, supporting intelligent military training while constantly testing and improving them in training practice. To this end, we should make full use of the overall coordination mechanism of war construction, vigorously promote the “+ intelligence” of existing equipment and the “intelligent +” construction of a new generation of equipment, insist on researching, building, using and improving, and improve the intelligence level of weapons and equipment through breakthroughs in training practice. We should work on both ends to achieve a multiplier effect, shorten the timeline of weapons and equipment from “weak intelligence” to “strong intelligence” and then to “super intelligence”, and better support intelligent military training.
Keeping up with the changes in war practices, innovating intelligent training models
The combat style determines the training mode. After years of development, military intelligence has moved from theoretical exploration to battlefield practice. In recent local wars, intelligent warfare has begun to show its edge and has shown the potential to change the “rules of the game” of war. As the combat style changes, the training mode must also change and change proactively. We must keep a close eye on the characteristics of intelligent warfare, innovate intelligent military training models, and fully rehearse the next war in military training.
Highlight high-end warfare research and training. We should focus on cracking the essence of high-end warfare by strengthening the enemy, continue to deepen research on strengthening the enemy, and use the development of new combat concepts and training theories as a starting point to understand the development laws and winning mechanisms of high-end warfare. We should predict future wars and design combat styles from a high-end perspective, and pool wisdom and innovation to research unique, clever, and high-level strategies to defeat the enemy. We must emphasize key actions such as joint missile defense, target strategic campaign and tactical training to force strong organizations to defeat the strong with the weak, target practical training for asymmetric checks and balances to win decisive battles in high-end organizations, target extended training in new domains such as the far sea and far domain for all-domain confrontation organizations, seize high positions in future wars through innovative training, and develop combat capabilities that are “one step ahead in intelligence” and “one step ahead in skills” against powerful enemies.
Emphasize the training of new forces. The transformation of war from winning by force and equipment to winning by wisdom has made new combat forces a new growth pole of combat power. According to information, the US military plans to achieve intelligentization of 60% of ground combat platforms by 2030, and the Russian military expects that the proportion of intelligent weapons and equipment will exceed 30% in 2025. As the army has more and more new equipment with intelligent attributes, it should move away from the actual combat training path with new combat forces as the leading element, highlight the formation and combat use of new combat forces, carry out training methods and tactics that are compatible with the new domain combat concept and winning mechanism, increase new types of training such as unmanned combat, promote the integration of new forces into the combat system, and make new combat force resources move and come alive.
Emphasize intelligent command training. No matter how the war situation evolves, command capability is always the key to winning the war. As the intelligence level of war continues to increase, planning and command based solely on experience and personal wisdom can no longer adapt to the ever-changing battlefield situation. Artificial intelligence decision-making training has become an inevitable trend to improve the efficiency of combat mission planning, combat planning, and command and control. We should focus on commanders and command organizations, which are the key to the system’s operations, seek breakthroughs in the scientific nature, accuracy, and timeliness of command planning, and rely on new technologies such as “big data” and “AI algorithms” and new methods such as “engineering” and “one network” to promote the upgrading of command planning from “human intelligence” training to “human intelligence + intelligence” training. We should judge the enemy’s situation, formulate plans, and determine actions through actuarial and detailed calculations, so as to achieve the goal of defeating the slow with the fast and taking the lead over the enemy.
