A research team from northwestern China has released a new algorithm that could fundamentally change how drone swarms hunt and destroy enemy targets.

The algorithm, known as HG-STR (Heterogeneous Graph Spatio-Temporal Reasoning), promises to allow a fleet of fixed-wing drones to autonomously search a vast battlefield and eliminate every single enemy, even when their communications are being jammed and their vision is blocked.

In a simplified, ideal environment, the algorithm could achieve a 100 per cent coverage rate, an increase on other algorithms, while operating fast enough to keep up with the pace of modern warfare, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in China’s top aviation journal Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica on May 19.

Most drone operations today are still controlled remotely by human pilots, according to a Beijing-based defence expert who was not involved in the study.

“This technology suggests a future where swarms of drones could be sent into a high-risk, jammed environment, cut off from human command with a single final order: find and kill them all,” he said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to media.

Traditional algorithms treat all information, such as friend, foe and terrain, as the same type of data.