Streamlined procedures within the PLA Air Force combine tankers and fighters, offering pilots real-time guidance.
The People’s Liberation Armyhas revealed a new AI-enhanced task allocation system for China’s aerial refueling aircraft, just days following a US military tanker accident in the Middle East.
According to the official PLA Daily, the Chinese air forcehas enhanced its air refueling processes by implementing an intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) system to boost effectiveness and security.
The report released on Monday followed closely after a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker” aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during America’s Operation Epic Fury.against Iran.
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As per the PLA Daily report, the “aerial refueling area management system,” created by engineers from the PLA Air Force, was initially implemented during exercises toward the end of last year.
The system keeps track of current airspace conditions and uses internal algorithms to instantly determine the fuel levels of every aircraft in the region.
Considering the fuel levels, available airspace, and flight time of every aircraft, the system creates the most efficient pairing strategies between refueling planes and combat jets, providing guidance to pilots.
“The ‘smart task assignment’ initiative suggests evidence-based and very effective methods, helping to enhance the efficiency of aerial refuelling,” the PLA Daily reported Yu He, an Air Force official participating in the programme, as stating.
Previously, the pairing process was akin to a “blind choice,” Yu explained. Tankers would merely hover in the air, while fighters tended to pick the closest available tanker. This frequently led to operational bottlenecks, with certain tankers becoming overburdened while others nearby remained unused.
The previous random refuelling-receiving model had turned into a significant vulnerability that hindered combat effectiveness and was not appropriate for the needs of upcoming battlefields,” the report stated. “Due to the new system, aerial refuelling efficiency has been enhanced even further.
Six crew members died in the KC-135 crash that occurred last Thursday. The Pentagon stated there was no involvement from either hostile or friendly fire, despite a pro-Iranian militant group asserting responsibility for bringing down the plane.
Early reports indicated the accident was caused by a mid-air collision with another KC-135, which was damaged but managed to land safely.
The U.S. KC-135 fleet, constructed during the 1950s and 1960s, is excessively aged and in poor condition, stated Du Wenlong, a military expert, on a Chinese state-run television channel.CCTV.
“Regular long-haul missions to high-risk areas add extra strain and exhaustion to the aging aircraft and the crew, potentially causing some problems,” he stated.
A retired senior colonel from the PLA mentioned a 1966 event where a KC-135 aircraft collided with a B-52 that was in the process of receiving fuel mid-air, causing the bomber to drop its hydrogen bombs and leading to radioactive pollution.
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This piece was first published in the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), a top news outlet covering China and Asia.
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