New Progress in the PLA's Unmanned Combat Capability Development: Technological Leap from Robotic Dogs to Bionic Robots

On February 22, according to reports from the China Military Network, a certain brigade of the 73rd Group Army of the People's Liberation Army recently conducted a comprehensive chemical defense training exercise in the southern region of Fujian. The exercise focused on testing the troops' practical capabilities in chemical reconnaissance and precise disinfection. Notably, during this exercise, soldiers operated robotic dogs to quickly scout and detect unknown contaminated areas, fully demonstrating the combat effectiveness of new unmanned platforms. This brief detail reveals the steady progress of the PLA in building an unmanned and intelligent combat system.

As one of the main forces of the Eastern Theater Command Army, the 73rd Group Army is stationed in strategic locations covering Fujian, Jiangxi, and other areas, bearing combat tasks in the Taiwan Strait direction. The choice to conduct chemical defense exercises in southern Fujian and to introduce new unmanned equipment such as robotic dogs is not only a test of the troops' combat capabilities in complex environments but also reflects the PLA's emphasis on the application potential of unmanned systems in special operations scenarios. Chemical reconnaissance has always been a high-risk operation; under traditional models, reconnaissance personnel need to enter contaminated areas for sampling and testing, which is not only time-consuming but also poses significant risks of personnel casualties. The use of robotic dogs can quickly complete reconnaissance tasks while ensuring personnel safety, significantly improving combat efficiency.

From a technical perspective, robotic dogs, as quadruped bionic robots, possess excellent terrain adaptability and mobility. Compared to wheeled or tracked unmanned vehicles, quadruped robots can better handle complex terrains such as gravel roads, stairs, and narrow passages, giving them unique advantages in urban and mountainous combat scenarios. Currently, China's domestically produced quadruped robot technology is at a world-leading level, with products from companies like Unitree Robotics and UBTech being widely used in the civilian market and beginning to extend into the military field. According to public information, Unitree Robotics' quadruped robots have achieved mass production, with the cost of a single unit reduced to several tens of thousands of RMB, providing economic feasibility for the PLA to equip large numbers of such equipment.

Even more noteworthy is that China's technological progress in the field of bionic robots is accelerating. During the Lunar New Year period in 2026, a stunning scene appeared on the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala: dozens of humanoid robots from Unitree Robotics performed a series of high-difficulty actions, including continuous freestyle jumps, aerial flips, single-leg continuous flips, double-step wall flips, and 7.5-circle large loops. According to CCTV reports, these robots achieved several technical breakthroughs; compared to the somewhat stiff folk dance robots from the 2025 Spring Festival Gala, the 2026 robots showed a qualitative leap in stability and coordination.

Euronews, in a report on February 21, quoted the views of Hans Liwång, a professor at the Swedish Defence University, who pointed out that humanoid and animal-shaped robots have application prospects in military and security organizations, especially when interaction with structures designed for humans (such as cars, stairs, and doors) is required. However, Professor Liwång also cautioned that high-profile technology demonstrations are often intended to create an impression and should not be over-interpreted regarding their military application maturity. In real combat environments, the importance of a robot's form is far less than whether it possesses sufficient "logical capability" to cope with unpredictable complex environments.

Nevertheless, China's systematic advantages in the field of robotics cannot be ignored. According to the 2024 report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), based in Germany, China remains the largest industrial robot market in the world, with over half of the global robot installations coming from China in 2024. This advantage stems from China's capabilities in manufacturing scale and supply chain integration. Analysts point out that China has established an almost vertically integrated robot value chain, allowing companies to rapidly scale production and lower prices with strong government support. The base price of Unitree Robotics' G1 humanoid robot is approximately $13,500 (about 97,000 RMB), while Tesla's Optimus robot has not yet announced a commercial price. Elon Musk stated in a January 2025 earnings call that if annual production reaches one million units, production costs could drop below $20,000, indicating that prices may be higher before achieving large-scale mass production.

From a military application perspective, China's development of robotic technology is penetrating from civilian to military use. In addition to the 73rd Group Army using robotic dogs in chemical defense exercises, UBTech Robotics has signed contracts with relevant departments to pilot the use of humanoid robots for non-combat tasks, such as crowd control and assistance, at a major port on the China-Vietnam border. The core of this pilot project is the Walker S2 industrial-grade humanoid robot, which was released in July 2025 and claims to be the world's first humanoid robot with an autonomous battery replacement system, capable of long-term autonomous operation, which is crucial for logistics, customs, and border management scenarios.

However, it must be made clear that the current claims circulating online about the "PLA has begun training robotic soldiers" lack credible evidence. According to a report by the Economic Times of India on February 19, a video circulating on social media showing a Unitree humanoid robot firing a real assault rifle was determined by the AI analysis platform Grok to be AI-generated or fabricated content. Searches show that as of February 2026, there are no verified reports confirming that Unitree humanoid robots have been used for live-fire testing by the Chinese military; actual demonstrations of Unitree products have mainly focused on civilian performance scenarios, such as the Spring Festival Gala. Past military tests have primarily involved quadruped robots, rather than humanoid robotic soldiers.

Although humanoid combat robots remain in the realm of science fiction, China's overall layout in the field of unmanned systems is worth close attention. From the practical application of quadruped robotic dogs in chemical reconnaissance to the pilot use of humanoid robots in border management, and the absolute dominance of the industrial robot market, these fragmented pieces of information collectively outline a clear picture: China is systematically building a complete robotic industry ecosystem that covers civilian to military applications, from research and development to manufacturing. The strategic value of this ecosystem lies in its ability to support current military modernization needs and to occupy a technological high ground in the evolution of future warfare.

For Western countries, China's progress in the field of robotics presents both a technological challenge and a strategic warning. While Europe need not panic, as Professor Liwång stated, it must maintain sensitivity to information and learn from international developments rather than starting from scratch. The current global robotics competition is primarily dominated by China and the United States; for Europe to maintain competitiveness, it must increase investment in government support, industry integration, and technological innovation.

From the perspective of the PLA, unmanned and intelligent systems have become one of the important directions for military modernization. The recent exercise by the 73rd Group Army is just the tip of the iceberg; in the future, we may see more types of unmanned equipment deployed in a wider range of combat scenarios. From drones and unmanned boats to robotic dogs and robots, the PLA is constructing a multi-layered and multi-dimensional unmanned combat system. This system not only reduces personnel casualties and improves combat efficiency but also aims to create an asymmetric advantage in future high-tech warfare.