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Kawala Xie

China’s military mouthpiece has called for the large-scale and centralised deployment of unmanned combat forces at key locations to fully realise their potential in any future intelligent warfare, amid rising tensions with the US in the Indo-Pacific.
In an article published on Tuesday, PLA Daily urged “innovative” organisation and applications of unmanned systems, highlighting their “decisive and dominant” role in future conflicts, including the capability to conduct close-range precision strikes.
“Driven by technologies such as autonomous unmanned systems and advanced networks, unmanned combat innovation is undergoing dramatic transformation,” the article said.
“We must move beyond traditional thinking, abandon the conventional use of unmanned systems as merely auxiliary forces, and develop a new operational theory centred on their large-scale, centralised deployment.”
Citing Russia and Ukraine’s efforts to build unmanned systems forces, as well as the US Defence Department’s Replicator initiative – which aims to field thousands of unmanned systems across air, land, sea, and space within the next two years – the PLA Daily argued that the idea of massed deployment of unmanned systems had become a “consensus” in military modernisation.
“The next phase of competition will focus on which side can rapidly concentrate the necessary systems and personnel, pioneer new models of organisation and deployment, and lead the way in building an unmanned force with cutting-edge technology and tactics,” it said.
US-China competition in UAVs and unmanned systems is a key front in their intensifying strategic and technological rivalry, particularly amid the rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
Both militaries have frequently deployed drones to the area for surveillance while testing their combat capabilities in a series of drills.
Beijing has also showcased its increasing capability in supporting drone deployment from land and sea-based platforms, illustrating its focus on centralised drone operations.




In 2022, it also launched the world’s first autonomous seaborne civilian drone carrier, the Zhu Hai Yun, which can accommodate dozens of unmanned vehicles, including drones, unmanned ships and submersibles.
Last year, a study by the PLA said China’s military had the ability to impose and maintain a blockade on an island solely with drones, right after the US released a plan for a military intervention over Taiwan – a drone-only strategy dubbed “Hellscape”.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise it as an independent state, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the island by force and is legally bound to provide arms to help it defend itself.
Some analysts have also suggested that the PLA would be able to counter US drones with larger-scale swarms equipped with advanced artificial intelligence-based applications.
Drawing on lessons from the Ukraine conflict, China has been investing heavily in swarm drone tactics, where hundreds or thousands of low-cost UAVs operate under centralised AI or human control, which could overwhelm US carrier groups in potential conflicts.
Both the US and China are racing to integrate AI with unmanned systems to enhance autonomy. China’s Jiu Tian, an AI-enabled and high-altitude UAV capable of carrying swarms for long-range missions, is expected to undertake its first mission this month.
The Jiu Tian, which made its debut at China’s premier Zhuhai air show in November, is seen as a significant step in the country’s development of large-scale and centralised unmanned combat systems that provide enhanced strike flexibility.


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Article urges innovative use of unmanned systems and highlights their ‘decisive and dominant’ role in future conflicts


Article urges innovative use of unmanned systems and highlights their ‘decisive and dominant’ role in future conflicts.


Massed drone deployments part of military modernisation: China’s PLA Daily

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Article urges innovative use of unmanned systems and highlights their ‘decisive and dominant’ role in future conflicts

Article urges innovative use of unmanned systems and highlights their ‘decisive and dominant’ role in future conflicts