Russia’s top-of-the-line fighter is getting a performance boost from artificial intelligence (AI) that might make it more practical in combat.
The fifth-generation stealth Su-57 (Felon) shall be equipped with AI-enabled communications systems, in response to the state-owned Rostec corporation. The Felon is the most recent aircraft to be equipped with AI, as manufacturers race to offer planes autonomous capabilities.
“The equipment is designed for fifth-generation aircraft,” Rostec wrote on its website as translated by Google Translate. “Its use will improve the standard of data transfer between aircraft and ground complexes.”
AI for Radio
AI could give the Su-57 a bonus relating to electronic warfare. Rostec claims the system finds essentially the most effective wireless channels within the Su-57’s vicinity and resists interference or jamming.
“The equipment ensures the reliability of data transmission attributable to noise-immune coding, interleaving of symbols within the message, common time synchronization in signal processing, the opportunity of simultaneous transmission of messages over parallel channels, increasing the range of stable communication…,” Rostec wrote.
The brand new radio isn’t the primary AI upgrade for the Su-57. An earlier Tass report claims that the SU-57 is getting an AI system that might help pilots make decisions while in combat.
The Su-57 is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The aircraft is meant to interchange the MiG-29 and Su-27, and first entered service in 2020.
Virtual Pilots
The Su-57 is among the many fighters vying to be the primary to give you the option to fly with AI help. The U.S. military is hoping that future sixth-generation fighter jets can have the choice to fly without pilots.
The Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program goals to develop a family of jets to succeed Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor. This system’s goals include autonomous aircraft and other abilities—ones that may give an edge in combat situations which can be becoming increasingly rapid.
“What we’re finding now in manned-unmanned teaming is the squadrons are ready to begin accepting more degrees of freedom to the system—not only moving into a circle, but perhaps cueing mission systems, perhaps doing electronic warfare [or] doing comms functionality,” Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of Combat Air Command said in remarks quoted by National Defense.
AI is already piloting jets. An AI system recently flew a test aircraft for greater than 17 hours on the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
AI could also help share information and coordinate actions amongst strike aircraft. For instance, the UK, Italy, and Japan are developing a brand new fighter jet called Tempest that uses AI algorithms to enable interoperability and collaboration amongst allies. The Tempest might be flown with no pilot’s input, because of the novel computer systems.