People's Liberation Army (PLA) analysis on the development trend of combat coordination in the era of artificial intelligence and the “Military Internet of Things”: autonomous coordination

Abstract

In future wars, unmanned combat forces, such as drones, vehicles and unmanned ships, will quickly move from behind-the-scenes support and collateral to front-line combat and begin to take on the role of "protagonists" on the battlefield. The deep integration of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, etc. made possible the storage, analysis, integration and application of massive amounts of data on the battlefield, making command and control more scientific and combat coordination more efficient. With the strong support of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the level of autonomy and automation of combat coordination will greatly improve, and autonomous coordination, from the perspective of intelligent empowerment, will become the key to defeating the enemy. Compared to traditional combat coordination, manned and unmanned intelligent coordination features features such as "decentralized" combat command, "de-division of labor" in the combat process - operations which, however, require advanced skills and blurred front and rear areas - and places greater emphasis on human-machine coordination and algorithm-based victory. In future wars, the participating forces will be complex and diverse, the weapons and equipment will be high-level, and the fighting methods will be mixed. These wars will exhibit distinctive characteristics, such as intelligent dynamic dispersal of combat command, intelligent large-area deployment of combat forces, and intelligent dynamic differentiation of combat tasks. In future wars, combat operations in space, cyberspace and other fields will be deeply integrated into the traditional battlefield space, requiring higher standards and stricter requirements for planning and designing the entire combat situation. It is possible to predict that multi-domain linkage and autonomous coordination will become an important component of combat coordination.

by Gabriele and Nicola Iuvinale

PLA unmanned reconnaissance vehicle. Its crawler movement mechanism uses four widely spaced road wheels. There is a clear gap between the first two pairs of road wheels and the rear two pairs. To reduce weight and ensure quietness and concealment, the tracks are not made of steel but of rubber. It is driven by an electric device and has excellent maneuverability. Its high-performance on-board microcomputer is responsible for processing all data, designing driving routes and adjusting the vehicle speed, issuing control execution instructions, etc. The cylindrical reconnaissance shaft at the rear of the vehicle can be folded and is equipped with white light and infrared cameras. The monitoring range is about 360 degrees, and it can transmit images and data of front and rear reconnaissance targets through a data link antenna. The car is also equipped with a GPS antenna, which can be used for autonomous driving and positioning navigation.

Introduction

Combat coordination is a key element to achieving system combat, unleashing overall effectiveness, and achieving combat objectives in modern warfare. In recent years, with the revolutionary advances in military science and technology represented by artificial intelligence (AI), the enabling and efficiency-enhancing role of science and technology has become much more important. While profoundly changing the form and style of warfare, it also generated a new mode of combat coordination: autonomous coordination. Currently, the PLA is scientifically grasping the opportunities and challenges of the new military revolution, to dynamically coordinate the direction of development, and thus promote the accelerated transformation and modernization of combat methods. With the help of powerful asset integration, data processing and analysis capabilities, it is possible to rapidly integrate battlefield intelligence, perceive the situation in real time, efficiently formulate coordinated plans and instantly assess threat levels. It can also coordinate the forecasting of combat operations, the analysis of typical scenarios, the deployment of combat forces and the allocation of combat resources, thereby comprehensively improving the overall quality and efficiency of command and control, firepower strikes, comprehensive support, etc., promoting revolutionary changes in combat coordination. It's underway and evolution towards multi-domain connection and autonomous collaboration

This unmanned PLA reconnaissance vehicle is small in size and uses a variety of noise reduction and concealment methods, so it is a small and difficult to detect target on the battlefield, which creates good conditions for carrying out latent reconnaissance missions. It also serves as a secret sentry. Its concealment is better than that of a person. Its accuracy is much higher than that of a human, and it can constantly and secretly explore and monitor the target situation without alerting the lurking object.

Transformation towards intelligent empowerment and autonomous collaboration

Future wars will be all-out clashes between the opposing sides, which they will use "people + smart equipment". 

Due to limitations in military technology, system platforms, and combat capabilities, traditional combat coordination has become difficult to adapt to the modern battlefield, where opportunities are fleeting due to limitations such as rigid cycles and low fault tolerance. 

This small unmanned reconnaissance vehicle made its debut relatively early. In a 2018 military report, it was seen during a live-fire exercise by the People's Liberation Army Airborne Assault Force. At the time, it was used with drones to assess the damage caused by fires in real time.

With the strong support of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the level of autonomy and automation of combat coordination will greatly improve, and autonomous coordination, from the perspective of intelligent empowerment, will become the key to defeating the enemy.

Collaboration spread across a large area. In recent years, the in-depth development of communication technologies and intelligent technology, as well as the accumulation of data, algorithms and computing power, have promoted the interconnection and aggregation of people, machines, objects and energy, and extended “the military Internet of things” to many fields, such as situational awareness, command and control, intelligence and fire attacks, and rear-guard support. In addition to promoting the iterative upgrade of combat capabilities, it also offers greater options for modern combat coordination. 

It is predictable that the “Internet of things military” will shine on the battlefields of the future. It is not only a critical infrastructure to support combat operations, but also a hub for maintaining combat coordination. 

On this basis, ubiquitous combat with widely dispersed forces, a modular organizational structure and highly coordinated actions will arise. 

It will be omnipresent, uncontrolled and autonomous.

Deep collaboration between man and machine. During the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani army has built a strong advantage on the battlefield by relying on the advantage of drones, which to a certain extent also heralded the arrival of the "war of the robots". In future wars, unmanned combat forces, such as drones, vehicles and unmanned ships, will quickly move from behind-the-scenes support and collateral to front-line combat and begin to take on the role of "protagonists" on the battlefield. Compared with traditional combat coordination, manned and unmanned intelligent coordination has characteristics such as "decentralized" combat command, "de-division of labor" in the combat process, operations requiring advanced skills and blurred front and rear areas, and places more emphasis on human-machine coordination and algorithm-based victory. 

Small quadruped military robot of the PLA that can be used for battlefield reconnaissance and for transporting ammunition and supplies.

In a 2023 report on CCTV's military program, two quadruped robots manned by troops from the People's Liberation Army's Western Theater Command could aim and fire at designated targets under operator control.

Especially in recent years, intelligent unmanned swarms have emerged as a new force and started to have a strong impact on modern battlefields. 

Faced with these new situations and changes, the PLA has begun to coordinate the use of cluster formation algorithms, formation control algorithms, and complex scenario optimization algorithms to promote manned and unmanned network communications and intelligent collaboration. The Chinese Army has also begun to promote the integrated or cluster operation of intelligence, command, mobility, strike and support to accelerate the generation of comprehensive combat capabilities to precisely defeat the enemy.

Digital intelligence drives collaboration. The traditional model of combat coordination under progressive command has become difficult to adapt to the multidimensional and fast pace of modern warfare. In future wars, intelligence is critical and data is critical. The deep integration of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, etc. made possible the storage, analysis, integration and application of massive amounts of data on the battlefield, making command and control more scientific and combat coordination more efficient. 

Robot dog launched from rotary-wing drone.

With the help of powerful asset integration, data processing and analysis capabilities, it is possible to rapidly integrate battlefield intelligence, perceive the situation in real time, efficiently formulate coordinated plans and instantly assess threat levels. It can also coordinate the forecasting of combat operations, the analysis of typical scenarios, the deployment of combat forces and the allocation of combat resources, thereby comprehensively improving the overall quality and efficiency of command and control, firepower strikes, comprehensive support, etc., promoting revolutionary changes in combat coordination.

The robot dog, already in service with a unit of the Western Theater Command, is equipped with cameras, radar, laser scanners and some firearms. It can not only patrol and monitor autonomously, but also automatically identify and track suspicious targets after detecting them.

Evolution towards multi-domain connection and autonomous collaboration

In future wars, the participating forces will be complex and diverse, the weapons and equipment will be high-level, and the fighting methods will be mixed. These wars will exhibit distinctive characteristics, such as intelligent dynamic dispersal of combat command, intelligent large-area deployment of combat forces, and intelligent dynamic differentiation of combat tasks. It is possible to predict that multi-domain linkage and autonomous coordination will become an important component of combat coordination.

By applying the concept of swarm combat, the "Robot Wolf" swarm system can realize "human-vehicle-wolf" interconnection, information sharing and dynamic autonomous coordination, and has integrated unmanned swarm combat capabilities of detection, attack, disruption, assessment and protection in complex environments.

With them, the PLA can effectively solve the problems of poor communication ability, weak assault ability, low level of access, weak interlayer mobility and low single combat effectiveness in complex environments such as urban areas, plateaus and mountains, and provide special operations teams and infantry teams with comprehensive and grouped combat means.

The system reshapes itself and collaborates. In future wars, multi-domain battle spaces will combine the real and virtual, various military operations will interact with each other, and constraints and collaboration will transform randomly. Only by adopting a planned and systematic organizational model will armies be able to adapt to the complex needs of multidisciplinary coordination.

This small unmanned vehicle is actually a combat platform. During its actual service, the People's Liberation Army selectively installed 7.62 mm or 5.8 mm light machine guns or automatic grenade launchers on this vehicle. In the integrated reconnaissance and attack version, it can be equipped with multi-channel detection and targeting systems, such as white light, infrared and low light. It can not only transmit images and data to the rear, but also control fire, aim and shoot at the target. It is very suitable for patrol and guard duties, and is used to reduce the chances of exposure of the combat team during reconnaissance and attack, to search and destroy enemies hidden in buildings and tunnels, and to rescue trapped team members. In fact, unmanned vehicles are becoming more and more common in the operations of the People's Liberation Army. The unmanned vehicles equipped by the People's Liberation Army not only serve for reconnaissance, attack, transportation and other purposes, but also come in various sizes, from large to small.

In the integrated reconnaissance and attack version, it can be equipped with multi-channel detection and targeting systems, such as white light, infrared and low light. It can not only transmit images and data to the rear, but also control fire, aim and shoot at the target.

It is very suitable for patrol and guard duties, and is used to reduce the chances of exposure of the combat team during reconnaissance and attack, to search and destroy enemies hidden in buildings and tunnels, and to rescue trapped team members.

In fact, unmanned vehicles are becoming more and more common in the operations of the People's Liberation Army. The unmanned vehicles equipped by the People's Liberation Army not only serve for reconnaissance, attack, transportation and other purposes, but also come in various sizes, from large to small.

The essence of this collaborative model is to form a large-area holographic support framework for system self-reshaping and collaboration. In particular, it is about highlighting the concept of system combat and exhaustively resolving the current contradictions in the construction of the organizational system, in the establishment of institutional mechanisms and in the formulation of coordination rules; pay more attention to the system integration effect and realize combat beyond visual range and coordinated combat between combat unit domains in a large area; place greater emphasis on efficient and flexible command, refine the command relationship and clarify command responsibilities from different dimensions; pay more attention to optimizing data accuracy, integrate network system platforms at all levels, and establish a dynamic optimization network for detection, control, attack, evaluation and security tasks. Once this coordination model is formed, it will undoubtedly be able to analyze and predict typical confrontation scenarios based on the combat environment, adversaries and missions, dynamically select action coordination links, and plan combat operations in various fields in an integrated manner.

From single-use to multi-use, from reconnaissance to attack, from loading rifles to carrying missiles, from a single "robot dog" to a pack of "wolves", able to play well as a team.

Adaptive tactical coordination. Local wars and conflicts in recent years have repeatedly demonstrated that as combat data and information is extended to shared applications at the tactical level, the complexity and systematic nature of combat coordination has increased exponentially. Only by achieving efficient processing, integration and sharing of combat data and information can autonomous and adaptable collaboration between combat users be ensured. This collaborative model pays more attention to scientific planning and innovative means to form a universal map of the battlefield situation with full dimensional coverage, supports hierarchical, inter-level and cross-domain sharing and collaboration between users of all levels and types deployed in a large area, enables command elements and combat units to jointly perceive the battlefield situation, and ensures self-synchronized operations under a unified strategic intent, campaign guidance and collaborative plan.

Small drones have been used extensively by the PLA, from strategic-grade ones to small ones like this one for food delivery.

This collaborative model places greater emphasis on the vertical integration of strategy, campaigns and tactics and the horizontal integration of land, sea, air, space and electronics. It provides powerful information sharing services in detection, early warning and surveillance, and relies on information media to promote the extension of joint efforts at the campaign level to joint efforts at the tactical level.

This type of six-rotor food delivery drone can also enable the People's Liberation Army to create a swarm. From the application of this type of equipment, it can actually be seen that the People's Liberation Army is integrating these unmanned intelligent technological equipment into the existing combat system, rather than the "emergency equipment" that is temporarily put into use by the Russian or Ukrainian military.

This collaborative model places greater emphasis on the standardized operation of command and force employment, and uses cutting-edge technologies such as big data and cloud computing to promote the connection of operational command levels, cross-domain linkage, element interaction and situation sharing, to achieve intelligent collaboration between command systems, weapon platforms and sensors, and to implement the key to winning by defeating slowness with speed.

In October 2020, a joint multi-service three-dimensional sea crossing and landing exercise organized by the 73rd Group of the People's Liberation Army demonstrated new unmanned combat platforms, such as unmanned obstacle-clearing ships, unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, and unmanned ammunition transport vehicles, three of which could carry out escort operations.

The advantages of intelligence complement each other and work together. In future wars, combat operations in space, cyberspace and other fields will be deeply integrated into the traditional battlefield space, requiring higher standards and stricter requirements for planning and designing the entire combat situation. Only by clarifying the complementary relationships between the advantages of each combat domain and the proportion of input effectiveness, and then defining the operational relationship of coordination between domains, will we be able to fill the combat gaps in domains and achieve complementary advantages on the multidimensional battlefield.

The People's Liberation Army's tactics for the use of unmanned weapons and equipment are not only designed for infantry, but can be used by all units. The fact is that, considering the needs of different units, these unmanned weapons have different uses.

In essence, it is also a concentrated reflection of the concept of war effectiveness. From another point of view, in a war, when the local advantage on the battlefield is not obvious or there is a hidden crisis, overall victory can also be achieved by obtaining local advantages in other areas to compensate and gain overall advantages. This point will be more evident and more complex in future wars based on information and intelligence, which they will require comprehensive measures in military, political, public opinion, legal, psychological, diplomatic and other fields, taking advantage of each other's strengths to fully unleash maximum combat effectiveness; It requires close cooperation between traditional and new forces, the creation of an integrated combat system based on the network information system, and the maximization of overall effectiveness through coordinated advantages.

In October 2020, a joint multi-service three-dimensional sea crossing and landing exercise organized by the 73rd Group of the People's Liberation Army demonstrated new unmanned combat platforms, such as unmanned obstacle-clearing ships, unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, and unmanned ammunition transport vehicles, three of which could carry out escort operations.

Transition to dynamically coupled autonomous collaboration

In the era of artificial intelligence, along with profound changes in information technologies, weapons and equipment, combat operations place greater emphasis on breaking away from traditional force groupings, linking traditional platform functions, breaking down traditional offensive and defensive boundaries, and achieving full-time dynamic control of combat operations through dynamic coupling and autonomous coordination.

Dynamic collaboration at meeting points. In future wars, the confrontation between the PLA and the enemy will be more intense, and the situation on the battlefield will be more changeable. It will be difficult to adapt to the previous static, extensive and gradual mode of coordination. It is necessary to pay close attention to the key nodes of the operation. We must assess the situation and seize opportunities by keeping an eye on the overall situation, defining combat tasks and focusing on combat objectives. According to the pre-established coordination rules, we need to nimbly change coordination objects, flexibly adapt coordination strategies, and negotiate and coordinate actions independently. It is worth noting that this coordination method based on key combat nodes particularly emphasizes that combat forces transcend structural barriers and organically aggregate combat effectiveness. Thanks to the flexible structure of the collaborative organization, it self-couples and autonomously resolves contradictions and conflicts, fills combat gaps, and promotes the precise release of the combined force of the combat system.

"Mechanical wolves". This quadruped robot cluster system consists of a transport vehicle or control vehicle combined with different types of quadruped robots. These include quadruped full-attack robots, quadruped reconnaissance and detection robots, quadruped transport and support robots, quadruped operation and disposal robots, etc., which can work together to carry out complex remediation tasks in scenarios such as urban roads, factories, mines and caves. It has a supported combat radius of up to 2 kilometers, a flight time of 3 hours, and supports up to 30 self-organizing network nodes.

Dynamic regulation and coordination. The situation on the battlefield in future wars will change rapidly, it will often be difficult to proceed according to the pre-established combat plan, and combat operations will be extremely uncertain. 

Invisibly, this also requires that we go beyond traditional thinking about combat, that we keep an eye on changes in the situation on the battlefield, and that we implement immediate, flexible and autonomous coordination of the combat process. This type of coordination, through real-time assessment of changes in the battlefield situation, the extent of damage to enemy targets, advantages in terms of scale of combat operations, etc., allows for rapid command and control, precise coordination in force projection, fire support and comprehensive assurance, always maintaining the initiative on the battlefield. This type of coordination requires relying on advanced intelligent assistance methods to quickly divide combat phases, predict the duration of combat operations, analyze the overall deployment of combat forces, calculate resource allocation for combat operations and accurately control the decision cycle and combat rhythm, accurately coordinate troop actions and combat progress, and ensure that various randomness and uncertainties in combat can be effectively responded to.

Dynamic response collaboration. The fighting mechanisms of future wars are unpredictable. The profound effects of asymmetric warfare, hybrid games, and system emergencies will make it inevitable that planned combat plans will encounter various emergencies during implementation. To this end, dynamic coordination in response to emergencies represents an effective strategy to resolve the above-mentioned contradictions. 

Use of automated mitigation instrumentation in PLA use.

This type of collaboration places more emphasis on dynamically adapting collaborative actions according to different situations. When an emergency occurs on a local battlefield or during a local operation and has little impact on the overall operation and there is plenty of time available, the combat system will automatically respond and partially adapt deployment and combat operations to ensure that intended combat objectives are achieved. When multiple urgent and slow situations coexist on the battlefield that partially influence the situation, it will dynamically and immediately coordinate combat operations according to the principle of urgency first and slowness later, according to specific circumstances, to direct the battle situation in a direction that is advantageous to us. When multiple unexpected situations or unexpected changes occur in the overall development of the battle situation, coordination is carried out according to the principle of “focusing first on the main direction and then on the secondary direction”, and new coordinated response measures are quickly generated to effectively respond to various emergencies on the battlefield.