Why does the United States do this?, Deploy thousands of unmanned combat systems within two years
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Katherine Hicks recently announced at the Emerging Technologies Conference of the Defense Industry Association that in response to the continuous growth of China's military power, the US Department of Defense has formulated the "replicator" plan, preparing to equip a large number of unmanned combat systems in the next 18 to 24 months, forming a scale effect, and responding to the "scale" of China's military power system with the "scale" of US unmanned systems.
Internally deployed within two years
Thousands of unmanned combat systems
The goal of the US Department of Defense is to produce, deliver, and deploy thousands of unmanned combat systems in multiple fields within the next 18 to 24 months.
In the view of military observer Du Wenlong, this plan by the United States is not simply increasing the quantity of unmanned equipment, but rather aiming to offset the quantity advantage through quality advantage.
Du Wenlong:
The US military will prioritize unmanned equipment networking operations and pay close attention to the new combat landscape it presents. The United States believes that "great power competition" is no longer about scale and quantity, but about gaining advantages through the extensive use of unmanned intelligent network equipment.
Relevant development ideas of Russia-Ukraine conflict correction
Du Wenlong further pointed out that previously intelligent and clustered unmanned combat systems had become the focus of the development of the US military, and the extensive application of unmanned combat systems in the Russia-Ukraine conflict further corrected and catalyzed this development idea of the US military.
Du Wenlong:
Firstly, drones have low costs. The United States believes that in future attrition warfare, traditional methods cannot sustain combat operations for a long time, and low-cost unmanned combat methods will become its preferred choice.
Secondly, it can be densely and extensively used. At present, both Russia and Ukraine are extensively using drones, especially the combination of drones and other weapons and equipment, presenting a new development model for unmanned systems.
Once again, the United States is very interested in unmanned equipment networked warfare and joint operations. In the future, there is a possibility of a "four in one" combat pattern consisting of underwater unmanned submersibles, surface unmanned vessels, drones, and land-based unmanned combat vehicles.
"No one can replace someone" is difficult to achieve
According to the New York Times on August 27th, the US Air Force is currently facing issues with a shrinking fleet and outdated active aircraft. For this reason, the senior management of the US Air Force is attempting to purchase 1000 to 2000 drones using artificial intelligence technology to supplement the existing fleet.
Regarding this, military observer Du Wenlong analyzed that currently, drones are still unable to replace drones.
Du Wenlong:
Because the foundation of unmanned technology is intelligence, but the current level of computer development cannot fully meet human combat needs, and there is also a risk of network hijacking or paralysis by the other party. However, the current development trend in the United States is worth paying attention to.
If the United States solely relies on unmanned equipment for the hope of victory and the leap in combat capability, it will face great uncertainty.
