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BEIJING: China’s latest gun-toting quadruped military “wolf” robots are designed to stealthily approach enemies, fire precise shots on targets and work in rough terrain, state media said on Wednesday.
State broadcaster CCTV said the robots, an upgrade from earlier robotic dog iterations, can replace human soldiers in dangerous conditions to reduce combat casualties.
China has poured support into robotics, an area in which some experts say it might already have the upper hand over the United States.
Its military has been keen to showcase its defense innovation — including weapons incorporating advanced technology like robodogs — during drills with countries like Cambodia.
In a video posted by CCTV on Wednesday, the newest iteration of the robot “wolves” carries a rifle on its back, marching into a smoke-filled battlefield.
The agile machines climb up flights of stairs, carry heavy backpacks and launch attacks on dummies, clips showed.
While they look almost identical to the military’s robodogs, the “wolves” have improved “reconnaissance and strike capabilities,” CCTV said.
“They can navigate various terrains and carry out precision strikes from up to 100 meters (328 feet) away,” it added.
During war, the robots would be able to operate like a real wolf pack, dividing tasks and coordinating with each other, state media said.
At the front of the unit would be the “pack leader,” responsible for gathering target information and transmitting reconnaissance imagery, CCTV said.
Others would be in charge of shooting at enemies or carrying supplies and ammunition, it added.
These new robots could signal that the future battlefield will be more automated and deadly, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.
It is “in part to instill national pride domestically, but also to intimidate potential adversaries externally,” Chong said.

YANGON: Monsoon floods in a rebel-held Myanmar town on the country’s mountainous border with China have killed six people, a spokesman for the armed group controlling the area said Wednesday.
The northern town of Laiza bordering China’s Yunnan province has reported flash flooding since early Monday, when muddy waist-high waters began to stream through the streets.
Laiza is a stronghold of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which has for decades commanded control of its own ethnic enclave and emerged as one of the most powerful factions in Myanmar’s civil war.
“A lot of water flowed down the mountain to the river,” said KIA spokesman Naw Bu.
“The flow of water was too strong and destroyed areas surrounding the river,” he added. “Six people were killed in the flood and 100 houses were destroyed.”
Rescue operation had begun on Wednesday, he said, but were being hampered by road blockages.
“All of the roads have been damaged and the roads disappeared in some areas,” said one resident, who declined to be named for security reasons. “The water rose suddenly.”
More than 3.5 million people are currently displaced in Myanmar amid the civil war sparked by a 2021 coup, many sheltering in temporary camps, leaving them exposed to the elements.
The resident said flooding was “terrible” around local camps for the displaced where some shelters had been swept away and people had been wounded.
Myanmar is in the midst of its monsoon season when daily deluges are common.
But scientists say hazardous weather events are becoming more frequent and severe around the world as a result of human-driven climate change.