'FWD Supreme' to use AI for flight and threat identification

Moving on, as the U.S., Turkey, and Germany develop autonomous combat jets, India is also furthering the AI combat aircraft ambition. India's flying wedge defense has unveiled a full-scale prototype of the FWD Supreme Heavy. The program aims to develop AI-piloted aircraft for surveillance, strike, and coordinated combat. Take a look at our next report for more details. FWD Supreme marks India's push into next-generation autonomous combat aviation. Unlike conventional remotely piloted drones, the aircraft is designed to use artificial intelligence for flight, threat identification and tactical decision-making with minimal human intervention. Behind me is FWD Supreme, an AI-piloted fighter jet. Now, the wing of this particular fighter jet spans 5 meters And the range could go up to 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers. Now, that is huge for an unmanned aircraft. Apart from that, this particular aircraft or this kind of indigenous creation showcases India's doctrinal shift towards producing in India, owning it in India and building it in India. FWD Supreme has two variants. The first is FWD Supreme Light, A 250-kilogram technology demonstrator designed to test autonomous flight and coordination with other unmanned platforms. The longer-term goal is FWD Supreme Heavy, a one-ton class aircraft envisioned for surveillance, reconnaissance, precision strikes and collaborative combat missions. As I told, we have two variants in this, Supreme Light and the Heavy. The one that you're seeing here is a heavy version, which is a 1.5-ton variant. We have a lighter variant, which is a 250 kg variant that has already crossed the taxi trials and very soon getting from maiden flight, DRDO Chitra Durga. And we are expecting this to happen in less than a year. There are four programs that you can compare this with globally. Unreal Fury, Shield AI, XBAT, they are all AI piloted programs, fighter programs. Then we have Helsing from Germany, they were building a CA-1 Europa, and then the Flying Wedge Supreme. These are the four programs that you can put in the same basket. At the heart of the program is the mobbing doctrine. The idea is to use numbers and coordination as a tactical advantage. Instead of relying entirely on a few high-cost crewed fighter jets, an Air Force could deploy groups of lower-cost autonomous aircraft on coordinated missions. With FWD Supreme, India will enter the global AI air warfare race. The FWD Supreme program comes as the United States, Turkey, Germany and other countries develop autonomous combat aircraft. The US is advancing its CCA program while Turkey is developing the Kizil Elma unmanned fighter. Germany is also pursuing autonomous combat aircraft capabilities, while Australia's MQ-28 Ghostbat is undergoing development and testing. The program will help expand India's role in the global development of AI-enabled air warfare. FWD Supreme has definitely the capacity to put India on the global map of AI warfare. At the root of this is the mobbing doctrine. Now, this doctrine argues that such AI-piloted fighter jets can be pitted against the adversary rather than just one manned aircraft. Right now, this is just a prototype and it remains to be seen when will the actual deployment take place. I'm Arjun Singh Tiwagi for Beyond Worldism.