China on the ‘Cutting Edge’ of Unmanned Systems

Posted: October 15th, 2017

By Peter W. Singer

Peter W. Singer is a Strategist and Senior Fellow at New America and an editor at Popular Science magazine. His past work includes serving as coordinator of the Obama 2008 campaign's defense policy task force, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as the founding director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institute. Singer is considered one of the world’s leading experts on changes in 21st century warfare and is a co-author of Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War (June, 2015).

The United States has long been the dominant designer, user, and seller of military drone technology. But China has quickly grown into a developer and competitive proliferator of its own in drone technology, which could have strategic implications for U.S. foreign policy in the South China Sea, and even around the globe. What are the geopolitical implications of China replacing Russia as the primary alternative supplier of weapons to countries both hostile and friendly to the United States? The Cipher Brief’s Levi Maxey spoke with Peter W. Singer, a Strategist and Senior Fellow at New America, about Chinese advances in drone technology and how their proliferation could become the AK-47s of tomorrow.

The Cipher Brief: What kind of advancements in drone technology have we seen come out of China?

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China on the ‘Cutting Edge’ of Unmanned Systems

By Peter W. Singer

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