China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force has unveiled an AI-powered strike planning system capable of coordinating air operations involving more than 100 tactical units simultaneously, according to a documentary broadcast on state television.
The "intelligent strike planning system" was shown on CCTV on Sunday, marking a rare public disclosure of the PLA’s progress in integrating AI into combat operations. The system prioritizes targets, organizes attack waves, and assigns specific tasks to individual units across dozens of formations, the documentary said.
Developed by a team led by Senior Colonel Deng Jianping, the system has already been used in multiple training exercises. CCTV footage showed the system processing a live-fire scenario with what state media described as "split-second precision" across more than 100 tactical units.
The system reflects the PLA’s broader push toward what its doctrine calls "system-of-systems" warfare, where multiple platforms and weapon types are coordinated through centralized AI-driven command. Chinese military experts quoted by the Global Times said the technology represents an accelerating shift from platform-centered operations to AI-enabled coordinated combat.
The disclosure comes as China continues to invest heavily in military AI applications. A February 2026 Georgetown CSET report documented thousands of PLA procurement requests for AI-enabled technologies across command, control, and targeting domains.
The PLA has also been developing drone swarm capabilities. Earlier this year, CCTV showed the "Atlas" drone swarm system coordinating 96 drones from a single command unit, and state media reported that over 200 obsolete J-6 fighter jets have been converted into one-way attack drones with automatic flight control systems.
No information was provided about human oversight mechanisms or safeguards in the strike planning system. The documentary did not address whether the system has been used outside of training exercises.
Sources
- South China Morning Post: [Chinese military unveils AI system to plan and coordinate mass air strikes](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3362824/chinese-military-unveils-ai-system-plan-and-coordinate-mass-air-strikes)
- Global Times (via Facebook): [Official documentary reveals PLA Air Force intelligent strike-planning system](https://www.facebook.com/globaltimesnews/posts/1593628262809375)
- Georgetown CSET: [China's Military AI Wish List](https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/chinas-military-ai-wish-list)
