The Observer Network by Nguyen Jaki
In August 2023, during the Biden administration, the Pentagon launched a military program called the Replicator, aiming to produce thousands of air-, land- and sea-based artificial intelligence systems within two years by promoting scale production of low-cost unmanned equipment and preparing for potential conflict with China in the Pacific.
However, two years later, this ambitious plan of the US military failed to achieve its goal. On September 26, local time, the US media "Wall Street Journal" quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that due to concerns about the slow progress of the plan, the related work of the "Replicator" program is currently being handed over to a new department under the US Special Operations Command--Defense Autonomous Operations Group (DAWG).
The report noted that the transfer of the project to DAWG was primarily aimed at accelerating the progress of the project and concentrating on developing the “most suitable weapons”. The source revealed that DAWG currently has less than two years to deliver the drones needed by the U.S. Department of Defense.
In recent years, China has rapidly expanded its ships, fighter jets and high-tech arsenals, with U.S. officials concerned that China will have the capability to take military action on Taiwan as early as 2027.
For the U.S. side frequently provoking military tensions in the Taiwan Sea at the Ministry of Defense's routine press conference held on May 29, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China, emphasized that Taiwan is part of China. How to resolve the Taiwan issue is the Chinese's own matter, and no foreign interference is allowed. At present, the biggest challenge in the Taiwan Sea situation comes from "Taiwan independence" separation provocation and external interference and destruction. The Chinese side's actions to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity are completely justified and reasonable and legal. We demand that the U.S. cease to arc on the Taiwan issue, otherwise it will only move a stone to shake its own feet.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the project transfer took place on the backdrop of the failure of the "Copier" program and the frustration of relevant parties.
The report mentioned that the "Replicator" project is currently in charge of Lieutenant General Frank Donovan, deputy commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. When Donovan took over the project in August, he attended an event in California. This event was supposed to demonstrate some of the advanced technologies acquired by the "Replicator" program, but according to those who participated in the exercise, the event instead exposed the problem that these systems are not yet ready for actual combat deployment.
According to the aforementioned sources, during the exhibition, a drone manufactured by the U.S. Black Sea Technology Company had a directional failure and ultimately lost control of the drift; an air drone developed by Anduryr Industrial Group, due to the possible failure of the launch pipes, delayed the launch; In addition, several drones with software failed to identify the target as expected, or there was a misjudgment of the target.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the U.S. Department of Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has been in charge of the “Replicator” project until August this year, and the agency’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment, while some participants insisted on the U.S. media that the exercises were successful and argued that taking risks and making mistakes in technological research and development was a normal phenomenon, not a project defect.
The source noted that while the DIU contributes to the introduction of commercial technology into the military, the agency still has to deal with many of the bureaucratic problems that the U.S. Department of Defense has long held. For example, active officers lacking technical expertise dominate a large number of drone procurement decisions, and some platforms require a large number of additional modifications to operate autonomously.
Three of the dozens of autonomous systems purchased for the Copywriter project, according to people familiar with the project, were not completed at the time of selection, or were only in the conceptual phase. Some officials noted that the disadvantages of the Copywriter project also include that the drones purchased by the DIU used backward technology and did not rigorously test the platform and software before the procurement.
One of the mistakes was the purchase of hundreds of Black Sea technology companies' "Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Boats" (GARCs). The drone was not designed for complex long-range missions in the Pacific, and U.S. Navy officials were still persistently pushing for procurement without fully understanding its technical limitations. They also noted that the military repeatedly replaced the software system and increased the functional complexity, resulting in rising costs and unnecessary delays.
One of the largest procurement projects of the "Replica" project was the Sprint Knight 600 drone, but the drone did not perform well on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to sources informed that the analysis of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center showed that the "Print Knight" drone was vulnerable to attack in an environment where communication was disrupted.
U.S. Aviation Environment, the manufacturer of the jet, explained that based on years of real-world experience in Ukraine, the company has made significant improvements to the drone, which significantly improved its performance in the e-war environment. But sources told the U.S. media that the U.S. Army refused to purchase the improved model for the "replicator" project due to concerns about the project's delay.
In addition, drones manufactured by different companies need to coordinate to locate potential targets and perform strike missions, but the U.S. Department of Defense has never been able to find software that can successfully control a large number of drones.
Informed people mentioned that during the "Project Kahuna" exercise held last year in the Pacific region, the drones of different manufacturers connected by Anduril's software have often had difficulties in coordinating tasks after they went beyond the operators' sight.
However, participants in the Copywriter project have given different explanations for the project’s delay, and all claim that the project has generally achieved a certain outcome. Some blame the problem for the military’s rush to purchase systems that have not yet been deployed, while others have lessened the impact of saying that these setbacks are just the normal phenomena that will inevitably occur in any ambitious, fast-paced technology development attempt.
Aditi Kumar, former chief deputy director of DIU, also claimed, "Our goal is to fill the capability gap and create a more competitive market. For scalable technologies, we will expand their application scope. At the same time, actively explore other technologies with potential. I think it is logical to hand over the project to Special Operations Command at present."
Exclusive texts of this section are not reproduced without authorization.