According to a Reuters review, China’s defense ministry is accelerating research into the military use of humanoid robots and planning their eventual deployment in wartime.
According to a Reuters review, China’s defense ministry is accelerating research into the military use of humanoid robots and planning their eventual deployment in wartime.
The publication made these conclusions after analyzing more than 100 announcements about Chinese military procurement, academic studies, patents, official publications, government documents, and materials from defense companies.
Most recently, China hosted the World Humanoid Robot Games, and just a few days after they were held, the official newspaper of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, PLA Daily, called on researchers to accelerate the transfer of advanced technologies in this field to military training grounds.
According to the publication, China’s military institutions have long been testing humanoids according to battlefield requirements, but this practice gained significant scale in 2025 and 2026.
China’s Ministry of Defense and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) did not respond to requests for comment on the military use of humanoid robots.
At the same time, the publication reminded that China already has a vision of using humanoid robots in urban combat, as similar scenarios for using robotic assault groups are already being worked out by Chinese testing centers.
Chinese military analysts envision an expanding range of roles for humanoids, and a July 2025 PLA Daily article argued that humanoid missions could evolve «from combat support to main combat.» The article discussed how robots could be allowed to fire at a live target that has been verified by a human.
The agency also analyzed the Chinese army’s tenders for the purchase of humanoid robots. Although most of the details remain unknown, such purchases are taking place quite actively.
As dev.ua reported, in March of this year it became known that Ukraine had received Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots for testing to evaluate their work on the front.
