U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks unveiled the Replicator plan, which would see thousands of AI-powered autonomous combat drones deployed over the next year and a half to two years to counter a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
With the help of the massive use of drones, the Pentagon intends to nullify the significant numerical superiority of the armed forces of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA).
As part of the Replicator, it is planned to use several thousand autonomous drones of various classes – flying, ground, surface, underwater and even space by 2025. They will
operate alone and in groups in conditions of poor communication and even in the complete absence of it. The main advantage of this tactic is the preservation of personnel, and drones are an inexpensive consumable. At the same time, the Pentagon leadership is confident in the technological and military superiority of the United States.
However, the US should not hope for an easy victory over China. China today is a nuclear, space power, the owner of hypersonic weapons, the largest navy and the undisputed world leader in the production of radio electronics.