China has revealed an astonishing mosquito-sized drone amid concerns from the UK government that rapidly evolving technology is reshaping the landscape of warfare.
The minuscule aerial apparatus, a product of the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) in the Hunan province of China, is tailor-made for undercover military operations and represents the latest in Beijing’s arsenal of combat-ready innovations.
Designed to emulate a mosquito, the drone is equipped with dual wings, a svelte black chassis, and ultrafine tripodal supports, conceived to fulfil “special missions on the battlefield” undetected.
The unveiling, which also featured other high-tech robots, took place this week on state television.
At just two centimetres long and three centimetres wide, the micro-drone weighs under 0.2 grams. A four-winged version of this gadget was demonstrated, seemingly smartphone-operated.
Liang Hexiang, a student researcher at NUDT, described its potential applications on CCTV: “Here in my hand is a mosquito-like type of robot. Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield,” reports the Mirror.
In the realm of military tech, China is pouring resources into AI gadgets and is poised to introduce the planet’s biggest drone carrier by this month’s end. This ‘drone mothership’ will be capable of unleashing vast numbers of lethal ‘kamikaze’ drones on adversaries.
Following Keir Starmer’s warning that Britons must brace themselves for the possibility of an attack on home soil due to escalating international tensions, the Prime Minister unveiled the UK’s National Security Strategy this week.
He stated: “Russian aggression menaces our continent. Strategic competition is intensifying. Extremist ideologies are on the rise. Technology is transforming the nature of both war and domestic security. Hostile state activity takes place on British soil.”
A section of the 53-page document, penned by the Government, reveals how “adversaries are laying the foundations for future conflict, positioning themselves to move quickly to cause major disruption to our energy and or supply chains, to deter us from standing up to their aggression.”
The document further states: “For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario.”
China was singled out as a potential threat as it seeks to develop AI capabilities that would enable them to deploy ‘swarms’ of drones in an attack.
If programmed correctly, these drones could be extremely difficult to shoot down or disable if they flew in overwhelming numbers, controlled by artificial intelligence responding at lightning speed.