The US is in a technological arms race with China, Air Force secretary says, and AI could decide who wins

• China is building up and modernizing its subject arsenic nan US strives to support its edge.
• The attraction connected precocious technologies has put nan 2 countries into a different benignant of arms race.
• The US Air Force caput suggested that AI could beryllium decisive successful early warfare.

China is "in a title for technological superiority" pinch nan US, nan Air Force caput said this week, noting that arsenic China becomes progressively assured successful its equipped forces and its expertise to usage them to beforehand its nationalist interests, "we'll beryllium successful a play of overmuch greater risk."

In immoderate areas, specified arsenic missiles, China appears to person an separator complete American forces, he said, and its pursuit of precocious satellites and automated conflict guidance systems person grabbed nan attraction of American officials arsenic nan US considers what a imaginable conflict betwixt nan 2 powers could look like. This title goes overmuch deeper, though.

On Tuesday, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said China has been efficaciously modernizing nan People's Liberation Army, fielding systems pinch nan intent of challenging US forces, particularly its high-value combat assets for illustration carriers and satellites.

Kendall said astatine nan Microelectronics Commons Annual Meeting and National Semiconductor Technology Center Symposium this week that China had agelong been taking notes connected really nan US subject operates, "and they were not conscionable designing their instrumentality and nan things they were buying astir being capable to conclusion nan US," he said, "their full subject was being designed astir that."

The Department of Defense has tracked monumental maturation successful nan Chinese subject for years, documenting investments successful warships, bolstered rocket capabilities and stockpiles, and precocious abstraction and cyber assets. The US subject refers to Beijing arsenic its "pacing challenge," putting accent connected nan Indo-Pacific.

But contempt US efforts to support up-to-date pinch China's modernization, Kendall said, successful immoderate ways, "we've fto them bargain a march connected us, rather frankly, successful nan systems they've fielded, that includes cruise and ballistic missiles, hypersonics," and "hundreds of satellites designed to target our associated force," arsenic good arsenic precocious conflict guidance systems to merge and power combat assets pinch a precocious grade of automation.

China has built up its Rocket Force, processing capabilities that put US subject assets astatine military bases and airfields crossed nan Indo-Pacific wrong striking range. Its unit includes much accepted systems, arsenic good arsenic newer weapons, for illustration nan DF-17 hypersonic missile.

Kendall besides noted immoderate of the Chinese aerial force's air-to-air missiles person nan ranges to spell aft tankers and command-and-control aircraft, for example, which "traditionally person operated retired aliases scope of nan threats and been capable to run beautiful overmuch pinch impunity," he said. "That's being erased; we don't person that capacity anymore."

The battlespace is changing, and crossed nan board, nan developments being made successful precocious warfighting technologies person created what Kendall has called "a title for technological superiority" alternatively than a "classic arms race." It's nary longer conscionable astir really galore warships a state has.

A cardinal portion of nan caller arms title is artificial intelligence, which "China is moving guardant aggressively in," Kendall said, adding that nan applications of AI are already being seen successful the warfare successful Ukraine and successful nan Middle East, "changing nan characteristic of warfare."

The Air Force caput said that he doesn't deliberation group who opportunity that AI is "going to find who's nan victor successful nan adjacent battlefield" are "all that acold off."

Like China and different militaries, nan US has besides made AI a apical privilege successful its subject developments crossed nan associated force, pursuing autonomous capabilities and ways to instrumentality AI into decision-making, shape recognition, and various assets and weapons.

For nan US Air Force, for example, that statement of effort has been evident successful its testing of AI agents flying combatant jets and successful nan collaborative combat craft and "loyal wingman" programs. Earlier this year, Kendall flew successful an AI-controlled F-16, which squared disconnected successful a dogfight against a parented F-16.

Officials said astatine nan clip that nan testing marked "an important milestone" for nan programme and said to increasing "confidence successful nan authorities of combat autonomy." Previous testing of AI agents has besides proven effective, pinch officials noting that AI programs tin quickly beryllium adjusted based connected caller data, scenarios, and performance.

In different example, nan Marines, moving pinch nan Air Force and Navy, recently tested a "loyal wingman" experimental autonomous unmanned aerial combat vehicle alongside F-35 stealth fighters, showing really nan subject is pushing nan manned-unmanned teaming conception "a measurement further" for nan associated force, an charismatic said.

As nan US and different powers prosecute this emerging caller exertion astatine breakneck speeds, location person been questions astir what nan domiciled of AI will beryllium successful nan subject and early warfare. War analysts and strategists person said nan US subject and others request a scheme for AI and autonomy sooner alternatively than later.