- China and Ukraine test new robotic capabilities
- Robots are deployed on the front lines of the war against Russia
- Protests in China could soon be monitored by squadrons of robots and drones
Robots cannot surrender, have no morale issues, and do not refuse an order. This is why the military and law enforcement see them as the future.
Ukraine has already employed robots in multiple roles within its armed forces – from maritime and airborne drones to CASEVACs and logistics vehicles – and now wants to deploy an additional 25,000 to frontline positions.
China is also flirting with the idea of equipping its armed police and riot units with squads made up entirely of robots, controlled by central AI, with remote human intervention only to prevent the robots from being too harsh.
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Ukraine to deploy 25,000 ground robots
To complement its existing capabilities, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced that it would seek to deploy an additional 25,000 robots in the first half of 2026. “Our goal: 100% of front-line logistics must be carried out by robotic systems,” said Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Since the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s robot and drone industry has exploded, with more than 280 companies now actively producing systems and solutions to help the war effort.
Ukraine has already claimed to have used a trench system using an all-robot team, in what could be the first engagement of its kind. There are also new deployments of drones and robots equipped with weapons, including machine guns and rocket launchers.
The government is also setting up a center to help the armed forces, general staff and robot manufacturers cooperate, ensuring smooth manufacturing and deployment.
China tests riot robots
The People’s Armed Police (PAP) have theorized a scenario in which a protest is suppressed in an urban setting using a riot squad composed entirely of robots.
The squad, made up of reconnaissance drones, armored vehicles and robot dogs, would isolate and arrest the instigators, thereby removing the organizational backbone of the protest. The rest of the protest, cut off from the Internet and lacking leadership, would then disperse on their own.
Aerial drones would use pattern recognition to identify agitators, before “shaking” the demonstration with robotic barriers. Arrests are then made, using nets and Tasers to neutralize the threats.
The system would require very little human intervention, instead using AI as the command center. Arrests would remain a human decision, even if remote.
The storyline, set in “New City,” bears a striking resemblance to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, which China has claimed to be an inalienable part of the mainland since the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government lost the Chinese civil war and fled to the island nation.
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