China wants to combine different types of drones into a single "smart swarm"
China intends to move from the technology of jointly controlling a large number of drones of the same type to a new stage - coordinating various unmanned systems operating in the air, on land, and at sea within a single network. In the future, such a system is envisioned to perform tasks ranging from reconnaissance to electronic jamming and high-precision strikes.
China plans to integrate various types of drones into a single "smart swarm"
An article prepared with the participation of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) highlights the promising directions for the development of drone swarm technologies in the country.
Experts from CETC's Institute of Intelligent Technology envision a drone swarm not merely as a collection of a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles moving simultaneously, but as a single distributed system.
In such a system, individual vehicles exchange information with each other, coordinate their actions, and make independent decisions based on the local situation.
China has already achieved significant results in creating swarms consisting of many drones of the same type. According to CETC, such systems have demonstrated the ability to build a decentralized network, reconfigure it depending on the situation, and use adaptive algorithms.
This allows the entire system to continue operating even if some drones fail, communication is lost, or radio-electronic interference occurs.
CETC experts highlighted five key characteristics that determine the combat effectiveness of a drone swarm. These are survivability, situational awareness, planning and decision-making, task execution, and the ability for independent learning and development.
It is noted that China currently possesses sufficiently advanced technologies in some of these areas. However, operating different types of unmanned vehicles simultaneously in the air, on land, and at sea still remains a highly complex task.
One of the key advantages of a drone swarm is its ability to integrate data coming from multiple vehicles. By aggregating surveillance data from several drones, it is possible to partially overcome the limitations in the technical capabilities of an individual vehicle.
Such a swarm can independently search for targets, detect camouflaged objects, determine their location, and simultaneously form a complete picture of the surrounding situation.
At the same time, detecting small and well-hidden objects under conditions of strong radio-electronic interference and noise remains a difficult task.