Overview
- State television aired footage of four‑legged robots leading a staged beach assault, clearing barbed wire and other obstacles as the notional first wave.
- Chinese reports cite roughly 70 kg weight, accurate fire in rough terrain, and engagement out to about 100 metres, with team roles that include reconnaissance, gun‑armed units, and an ammunition carrier.
- Independent coverage notes accompanying swarms of FPV “kamikaze” drones conducting precision strikes against mock defences in the same exercise.
- External experts say the quadrupeds face short battery life, fragile communications, small payloads, and vulnerability under fire, making them better suited to breaching or urban reconnaissance than open‑field charges.
- Taiwan’s defence ministry says troops are training to shoot down drones and is seeking additional counter‑drone systems, reflecting concern over new unmanned threats.