Chinese jet with 13,580 km/h destroys F-35 fighter in 8 seconds in virtual combat

Chinese researchers have reported the successful destruction of a US fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter. But in a virtual battle that was first simulated using artificial intelligence.

Here's What We Know

Two aircraft collided in the computer simulation: an American and a Chinese aircraft. The first had a top speed of Mach 1.3 (1,600 km/h) and the second had a top speed of Mach 11 (13,580 km/h).

The Chinese fighter was controlled by artificial intelligence. The neural network directed the aircraft away from the enemy aircraft. After it moved away from the target, the AI fired a missile "over the shoulder" in the opposite direction.

The missile flew 30km and hit a virtual F-35 fighter jet. According to Chinese scientists, the aerial battle ended in less than eight seconds. Liu Yanbin, an associate professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, stressed that the tactics the artificial intelligence chose were illogical, but minimised the risk to the pilot.

Researchers believe that in future hypersonic conflicts, pilots will not be able to aim accurately because of the extremely high speeds. And artificial intelligence could come to their aid by taking over that task.

Source: scmp