From dance floor to war: China readies humanoid robots for combat

In a recent turn of events, China's humanoid robots showcased their advanced capabilities at the World Humanoid Robot Games, outperforming even the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) highlighted the rapid progress of these robots in its official newspaper, PLA Daily, urging researchers to speed up the transfer of technology from labs to the battlefield for use as "combatants."

According to Reuters' analysis of over 100 military procurement notices, academic studies, patents, official publications, government records, and defense-company materials, China's defense establishment is accelerating research into military applications for humanoid robots and planning for their eventual deployment in wartime.

Military institutions are testing robots against battlefield requirements, seeking to acquire robots and technologies to train them, and studying their potential functions alongside troops. Chinese manufacturers account for nearly all global humanoid shipments, providing the PLA with access to an expanding industry while developing its own military applications.

The PLA's interest in humanoid robots intensified in 2025 and 2026, focusing on robot perception, manipulation, and training data. This trend reflects the rapid evolution of military technologies worldwide, with semiautonomous drones, and robots carrying supplies and retrieving casualties playing key roles in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Despite China's advances, no evidence exists of armed humanoids being deployed in operational PLA units. Chinese military commentary suggests an expanding range of roles for humanoids, envisioning them eventually evolving from supporting combat to primary combat and even being authorized to fire on a living target verified by a human.