China's PLA Air Force Unveils AI-Powered System for Coordinating Mass Air Strikes with Over 100 Units

Aug 3, 2026

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force unveils an AI-enabled intelligent strike-planning system designed to coordinate over 100 tactical units simultaneously. Developed by a team under Senior Colonel Deng Jianping, the system compresses the sensor-to-strike cycle and optimizes weapon allocation. This technology marks a shift toward system-of-systems warfare as China integrates mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization ahead of its 2027 centenary goals.

AI-powered strike-planning system

▪The intelligent strike-planning system passed its final live-fire test and has been deployed in multiple Chinese military missions.
▪The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force developed an AI-enabled intelligent strike-planning system to automate and optimize combat coordination.
▪A team led by Senior Colonel Deng Jianping developed the intelligent strike-planning system to manage complex, large-scale training exercises.

System-of-systems warfare transition

▪The intelligent strike-planning system represents a shift in Chinese military operations from platform-centered tactics to AI-enabled, system-of-systems warfare.
▪The AI system compresses the sensor-to-strike cycle by integrating real-time situational awareness with automated force and weapon allocation.

Coordinated multi-unit operations

▪The intelligent strike-planning system is designed to simultaneously coordinate and synchronize more than 100 tactical military units.
▪The system integrates diverse Chinese military hardware, including J-20 stealth jets, J-16 and J-10C fighters, H-6K bombers, and missile systems.

Airborne early-warning command capabilities

▪The early-warning aircraft identified enemy intentions and guided friendly aircraft to attack a command node during the exercise.
▪A Chinese airborne early-warning aircraft independently directed a system-of-systems engagement during a military exercise involving decoy targets and electromagnetic interference.

PLA modernization toward 2027

▪The integration of mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization is increasingly critical as the Chinese military advances toward its 2027 centenary goals.
▪China's state broadcaster aired footage of the intelligent strike-planning system on August 2, 2026, in a documentary celebrating the military's 99th anniversary.