What does a Chinese drone competition say about Beijing’s military ambitions?
Focus on unmanned technology signals a drive for PLA advances and a wish for young people to more deeply appreciate national defence
A nationwide drone competition in China has offered rare insight into the depth and breadth of participation by young people in the cutting-edge field as Beijing seeks military advances in uncrewed technology.
More than 200 teams from 106 universities took part in the final round of this year’s National Youth Intelligent Unmanned Systems Application Competition in Shanghai last week, China Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.
The competition featured various elements of uncrewed technology, such as ground-based counter-drone swarms, coordinated air-ground confrontations and joint ground-air support and transport – elements that were part of Chinese military training, the report said.
It added that the competition was meant to guide young people to explore cutting-edge technologies, gain a close understanding of national security and promote the development of national defence education.
According to Chinese media reports, the competitors’ work included an autonomous patrol-and-strike robot dog designed by students from Changchun University in Jilin province. The robot combined the dog’s strengths in a complex ground environment with intelligent visual search technology to complete reconnaissance and strike missions.