China’s military AI detects secret radar links between South China Sea, Alaska and Guam

Tan KW

Publish date: Fri, 16 Aug 2024, 02:26 PM

Chinese electronic warfare AI has detected mysterious signals that repeatedly show up in the South China Sea, Guam, the Marshall Islands and the Aleutian Islands near Alaska - and they appear to be coordinated.

Scientists involved in the investigation say that the characteristics of these electromagnetic signals suggest the existence of “tactical coordination” among military radars deployed in these areas across the Pacific Ocean.

This is the first time the People’s Liberation Army has publicly showed its ability to gather electronic warfare intelligence around the globe “based on specific targets and actual reconnaissance data”, according to the researchers.

The operational range of China’s naval and air forces in the Pacific has expanded from the South China Sea to Alaska and the US territory of Guam - a key spot on the “second island chain” under Washington’s strategy to contain China.

Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands, in the central Pacific, are home to the US military’s most powerful space surveillance radar.

China and its competitors engaged in electronic confrontation “every day” around the globe, said the research team led by Zhou Changlin of the Strategic Support Forces Information Engineering University. They published their findings in a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Terahertz Science and Electronic Information Technology in May.

These events generate a large amount of signal data, including information on time, frequency, location, and electromagnetic parameters, Zhou and his colleagues wrote.

This data, which can be collected by warships, aircraft and satellites, has grown rapidly in terms of volume and complexity in recent years.

Traditional analysis methods have not been fast or accurate enough to meet the Chinese military’s intelligence data mining needs, according to the researchers.

Zhou’s team has built a data processing platform, based on artificial intelligence algorithms, that enables massive data analysis and intelligence extraction to provide precise and customised services for combat units.

The AI system can analyse historical signals filled with noise and uncertainty to identify patterns of electronic tactical coordination among different types of radars belonging to different countries at various locations.

The paper lists some events that the AI considers to be correlated and provides their geographical coordinates.

This information helps the Chinese military better plan electronic warfare tasks such as electromagnetic suppression, deception, and jamming.

Zhou’s team says that the AI could also identify unknown types of radars, accurately guess their confidential operating parameters and even predict the future deployment of foreign naval fleets.

The electronic warfare AI works with other intelligence platforms, such as imaging satellites, to cross-check its findings.

Human experts have also played an important role in fine-tuning the AI model parameters, according to Zhou’s team.

The PLA’s electronic warfare equipment has made rapid progress in recent years, and its electronic warfare strategy has become proactive, while the United States sometimes finds itself on the defensive.

Last month, Chinese and Russian warships, along with strategic bombers, appeared in the waters near Alaska, while another set of Chinese and Russian vessels reportedly approached Guam, home to the largest US military base in the western Pacific.

The US Navy destroyer USS Rafael Peralta said on its official Facebook page that the ship “protected Guam” during the Chinese and Russian deployment.

However, the US Navy subsequently deleted the statement and described its interaction with Chinese and Russian warships as “safe and professional”, according to a Newsweek report on Monday.

- SCMP

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