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US conducts "Silent Swarm" unmanned technology test

2024-08-14

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The U.S. Navy's unmanned surface vessels and littoral combat ships jointly carry out patrol missions.
According to foreign media reports, the US Navy recently held an unmanned technology test codenamed "Silent Swarm 2024", focusing on evaluating the ability of drones and unmanned boats to conduct electronic warfare through swarm warfare under the empowerment of artificial intelligence and network technology. Foreign media said that the test integrated unmanned technology tactics with the US Navy's "distributed lethality" and other combat concepts, aiming to improve the level of unmanned combat.
Testing a variety of unmanned technologies
It is reported that the "Silent Swarm" series of tests began in 2022 and has been held twice. This test is the third one and was held at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan, USA. It was jointly organized by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, the Michigan National Guard, the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic Division, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army C5ISR Center and the Air Force Test Center. Institutions, groups and individuals from the military and related industries participated.
During the two-week test, the U.S. Navy's drones and unmanned boats conducted 57 technical tests through swarm warfare, including evaluation of enhanced sensing, precision navigation and timing capabilities, as well as electronic warfare in support of battlefield military operations. The entire test was divided into three parts: load technology testing, platform and technology combination, and battlefield application.
In the payload technology test phase, UAVs and unmanned boats are tested after installing a single technology module or multiple technology integrated systems, such as testing the actual reception effect of unmanned boats on command and control signals of different powers, and the detection distance and data return rate of the reconnaissance system carried by UAVs.
In the stage of combining platforms and technologies, unmanned boats were organized into groups of 4, 8, 10, and 14, respectively, equipped with technical modules to carry out long-distance navigation and perform a series of basic subjects; drones were tested for releasing "swarms", command and control, and intelligent switching of tasks between drones. Among them, manned/unmanned joint operations and air/sea linkage are the highlights of this stage. Far away from the shore-based command center, the Navy Surface Warfare Center tested the unmanned boats' ability to send support requests to support ships over long distances through drones, and finally have manned ships take over the tasks.
In the battlefield application phase, the main tests include distributed electromagnetic attack, communication under extreme conditions, electromagnetic interference and fraud, etc. This phase is only open to the military and companies involved in the design, and the UK and Australia also sent observation groups to participate.
Experimenting with new domain operations concepts
Foreign media said that compared with the previous two sessions, the "Silent Swarm 2024" test is more comprehensive and pays attention to the evaluation of electromagnetic technology "soft kill" and autonomous action of unmanned platforms. In particular, the two links of platform and technology combination and battlefield application integrate the US Navy's "distributed kill" and other combat concepts, further deepening the concept of new domain operations, and the relevant details are worth studying.
It is reported that during the test, after receiving the command, 10 unmanned boats were quickly deployed from the shore to various preset points in a "silent" manner, forming a ring-shaped encirclement of the target in a short period of time. Subsequently, the AN/SLQ electronic system carried out electromagnetic attacks in a centralized and alternating manner. After the attack, the unmanned boat group temporarily entered the "standby" state. After receiving the command again, the unmanned boat group activated the "distributed deception" mode, successively releasing electronic baits to lure threats and consume the opponent's firepower.
At the same time, another group of unmanned reconnaissance boats disguised as freight caravans, when approaching the waters where the enemy's forces were assembled or important base ports, they deployed a large number of unmanned submarines. These unmanned reconnaissance boats carried container-type reconnaissance and communication equipment, and formed a communication relay and situational awareness network with a large number of underwater unmanned submarines to comprehensively collect intelligence and transmit real-time communication data back.
In addition, the Navy Surface Warfare Center also organized two large-tonnage unmanned boats to carry out ultra-high-power signal suppression, by continuously sending junk information to occupy a large amount of the opponent's spectrum channels, disrupting the opponent's command and control operations.
The Air Force Test Center is mainly responsible for testing the battlefield tactical use of drone "swarms". A variety of small and micro drones are launched in batches by unmanned boats. According to the mission settings, they independently plan routes to arrive over the target area, stand by in front, middle and rear formations, and perform tasks such as electromagnetic saturation attacks, communication relays, and acting as bait and feints.
Accelerate the construction of unmanned systems
In recent years, the US Navy has attached great importance to the construction of unmanned systems. On the one hand, equipment construction has accelerated. According to the U.S. Navy Guidance Plan, by 2045, the U.S. Navy will develop into a fleet consisting of 373 manned ships and 150 unmanned surface ships and unmanned submarines. In May this year, the U.S. Navy's 3rd Unmanned Surface Ship Squadron was established, focusing on small unmanned boat tactics and combat concept testing. In June this year, the 66th Task Force under the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet completed force adjustment and reorganization, equipped with at least 80 sets of unmanned technical equipment such as the "Ghost-4" UAV and the "Explorer" unmanned boat. The U.S. Navy said that 26 large unmanned ships will be equipped before 2026.
On the other hand, the US Navy frequently conducts unmanned system combat exercises to seek future combat advantages. In 2021, the US Navy organized the "Unmanned System Integration Operational Problems" exercise, which aims to integrate the combat capabilities of manned/unmanned systems; in the 2022 "Rim of the Pacific" military exercise, the US Navy sent four unmanned ships to participate in the exercise, which are equipped with automatic control systems, electronic warfare, anti-submarine warfare and other mission modules, and can perform anti-submarine, intelligence collection, surveillance and reconnaissance, patrol and communication relay tasks; in 2023, four large and medium-sized unmanned boats of the US Navy assembled in the Asia-Pacific region to conduct distributed combat training with "Aegis" destroyers, littoral combat ships, and P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft.
Analysts say that the frequent unmanned system exercises held by the US Navy are, on the one hand, to build momentum for increasing the defense budget, and on the other hand, will intensify competition in the field of unmanned systems and undermine regional peace and stability. In addition, with the continuous development of unmanned equipment technology, data security and privacy protection issues have also been magnified. How the US military handles the relationship between technology and ethics is also a difficult issue.
(Source: China National Defense News)
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