MAROKO133 Update ai: China’s J-16 fighter goes head-to-head against Europe’s most advanced

📌 MAROKO133 Update ai: China’s J-16 fighter goes head-to-head against Europe’s mos

China’s state broadcaster has offered a rare look inside the People’s Liberation Army’s war-gaming activities, airing footage of a simulated air combat scenario between Chinese- and French-made fighter jets as the military expands the use of computer-assisted exercises to train pilots and test tactics.

The report by China Central Television (CCTV), broadcast on Friday, showed a tabletop-style simulation in which Chinese J-16 multirole fighters were pitted against French Rafale jets. 

The segment said this year marked the first time the PLA and the People’s Armed Police Force promoted large-scale pilot war-gaming across the force.

J-16 vs Rafale

PLA war games are typically classified, but the report said the exercise was among several held in the central Chinese city of Xuchang, in Henan province. 

About 20 units from across the military and its academies attended the gathering, according to CCTV. Additional simulations involved army and submarine forces, the broadcaster said.

In the footage, two PLA Air Force officers stood before a board depicting an air combat scenario between Chinese and foreign aircraft. 

On one side, labeled “task,” the forces included “J-16 x8,” referring to eight Chinese-built J-16 fighters. 

On the opposing side, labeled “threat,” was “Rafales x6,” indicating six French-made Rafale jets operated by several countries, including France, Egypt, and India.

One officer pointed out more threats on the board, indicating that the simulation included many factors and opponents.

The report did not include the assumptions, methods, or results of the exercise. It also failed to explain how the simulated engagement took place.

War games are drills that mimic combat situations. Military professionals use them to train officers, test strategies, and learn how future conflicts might happen.

The CCTV report comes months after Pakistan claimed that its Chinese-made J-10C fighters shot down several Indian Air Force Rafales during a brief clash between the two countries on May 7. India has not confirmed any such losses. 

However, US officials told Reuters in May that at least two Indian aircraft were shot down during the incident, including at least one Rafale.

If confirmed, this loss would be the first instance of a Rafale being shot down in combat. It could be a significant event for Chinese-made aircraft, showing their ability to challenge NATO-standard fighters. This might also affect future arms sales.

Taiwan issue

The J-16 fighter featured in the simulation regularly conducts patrols along China’s coastline. Chinese military analysts often describe the aircraft as a key combination when operating alongside the J-20 stealth fighter in any potential conflict over Taiwan. 

The J-16 also drew attention last year after intercepting unidentified foreign aircraft near China’s east coast, with reports saying one Chinese jet performed a close-in maneuver near another plane.

Wu Keyu, a PLA officer from the National University of Defense Technology, said the military began developing war-gaming systems in the 1990s and that they are now “widely used.” 

He said the next step is to tailor such systems more closely to the PLA’s operational needs.

CCTV said China has independently developed several war-gaming platforms that integrate artificial intelligence, big data, and real-time simulation engines. 

These systems can be applied to joint operations across land, sea, air, missile, space, and electromagnetic domains.

“As the complexity of warfare continues to increase, integrating artificial intelligence technology into war-gaming systems has become an essential development option,” Wu was quoted as saying, adding that human decision-makers must remain central to planning and command.

A national war game simulation competition took place earlier this month in Suzhou. This event shows Beijing’s effort to grow and standardize these tools across its armed forces.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 MAROKO133 Breaking ai: Korea Tests Ultra-Rugged Robot to Explore the Moon’s Myst

If humans finally colonize the Moon, lunar caves formed from primeval volcanic activity could provide shelter from cosmic radiation and extreme temperatures. But how does one go about safely exploring these uncharted caves before they venture in?

Enter a team of scientists from South Korea who have built a simple rover prototype that can traverse rough terrain. What’s truly special about this robot are its sturdy wheels, made of flexible metal strips woven together into a helix-like pattern that give it the ability to expand and contract like a piece of kinetic art.

“Experimental results show successful traversal of 200-millimeter [7.8 inches] obstacles, stable mobility on rocky and lunar soil simulant surfaces, and resilience to drop impacts simulating a 100-meter [328 feet] descent under lunar gravity,” write the scientists in a new paper published in the journal Science Robotics.

Because it can grow from nine to 19.6 inches in diameter, a rover with these wheels is able to distribute weight more evenly along its body. The result is a bot robust enough to navigate tricky cavern landscapes, along with the ability to fit into tight spaces in its smallest configuration. Other robots have used hinges or “origami-inspired folds” which can be vulnerable to lunar surface hazards, according to the paper.

The scientists demonstrated the wheel’s robustness and ability to travel around or over obstacles by having the rover explore a real cave here on Earth. They also used a drone to drop it in the air, and blasted it with fire and cold. The metal in the wheel itself is made from light weight carbon steel strips, making them tough but elastic.

“Consequently, the wheel could absorb impacts and navigate uneven terrain while remaining robust under extreme lunar conditions,” the paper reads.

For a future mission to the Moon, the team envisions a large rover carrying multiple smaller rovers with these special wheels and deploying them at the opening of a lunar pit.

“Although the explorers remain compact when stowed, the large diameter of the deployable wheels is expected to increase the ground contact area, thereby improving traction on thick dust and uneven slopes,” the paper reads. “This capability would allow the explorers to navigate challenging pit entrance terrain safely.”

The large rover would then directly drop these smaller rovers inside the lunar pit leading to a cave, with the “wheels’ elasticity and impact capacity” serving as shock absorbers.

“The results highlighted the deployable wheel’s ability to combine adaptability, durability, and operational efficiency, making it a promising solution for diverse and challenging mission scenarios,” the paper reads.

More on the Moon: Scientists Say There May Be Life on the Moon

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🔗 Sumber: futurism.com