Merging air, land and sea swarms – the next frontier in China’s drone technology

If mastering drone-swarm technology was not difficult enough, China is now tackling the more complex task of integrating uncrewed land, sea and air platforms, according to the country’s leading developer in the field.

In an article posted on China Electronics Technology Group Corporation’s (CETC) social media account on Sunday, the company’s Intelligent Technology Research Institute said drone-swarm technology was not merely “many drones flying together”, but an intelligent, distributed combat system in which aircraft communicated, coordinated, made local decisions and collectively generated capabilities.

China had made advances in developing and deploying swarm systems made up of similar drones, the institute noted. The country’s longer-term goal, however, was a combat network capable of coordinating different uncrewed platforms across the entire operational area and in multiple domains.

“Drone swarms are a key force for adapting to complex, intelligent future warfare and for driving changes in how modern wars are fought,” the article’s authors wrote.

The disclosure is the latest indication of China’s advances in drone-swarm technology. In January, state media released footage showing one of the country’s most advanced drone-swarm systems in operation, with a single soldier reportedly able to control up to 200 drones.

The institute said large-scale field tests had shown that drone swarms could autonomously reconfigure their networks, close gaps in formation and continue missions under extreme conditions, including the loss of individual units in combat, communications disruptions and intense electromagnetic interference.

Work is continuing on technologies to improve the survivability of heterogeneous swarms – comprising different drone platforms – during long-range operations in heavily contested environments.