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China’s ‘Leap Forward’ in Drone Weapons

AI and the potential for war over Taiwan are driving a drone boom in China’s military

China’s ‘Leap Forward’ in Drone Weapons

Three new types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) released at the Low-altitude Economy, Education, Science and Technology, and Talent Integration Development Conference of Tianmushan Laboratory in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on May 10, 2025.

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CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

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DEEP DIVE – China’s military is in the midst of an innovation and manufacturing boom in drone weaponry — a “leap forward,” as one expert put it, that seeks to outpace the U.S. and prepare Beijing for a potential war over Taiwan.

While the war in Ukraine has driven much of the recent news and analysis about drone warfare — most recently, the stunning strike that the Ukrainians carried out against five Russian military bases — U.S. national security officials are increasingly concerned about the strides China’s military is taking in drone innovation. A recent U.S. Defense Department report found that China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) “is modernizing and indigenizing its aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, rapidly matching U.S. standards.”

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