China reveals 200-strong AI drone swarm that can be controlled by a single soldier — ‘intelligent algorithm’ allows individual units to cooperate autonomously even after losing communication with operator

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) just demonstrated its latest drone swarm tech on state TV, showing a single soldier controlling 200 units. According to the South China Morning Post, the drones are launched from the Swarm I land vehicle, A.K.A the High Mobility Swarm Weapon System, which can simultaneously launch 48 fixed-wing drones that work together. Each unit can then autonomously communicate with each other, allowing the entire swarm to fly in precise formation and divide tasks among themselves, like conducting multi-target reconnaissance and strike operations, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in the report.

“Each drone is equipped with an intelligent algorithm,” National University of Defence Technology’s School of Intelligent Science research fellow Xiang Xiaojia said to CCTV. “Through interconnection and autonomous negotiation, they can form a powerful, collaborative intelligent swarm.” Aside from that, the drones combat electromagnetic interference using an autonomous anti-jamming algorithm, allowing them to continue operating even without contact from an operator. “Even a single person can control a swarm of more than 200 fixed-wing drones launched simultaneously from multiple vehicles,” the state broadcaster said.

The PLA first showed off its drone swarm capability at the 2021 Zhuhai air show with the Swarm I, which is reportedly capable of wide-area reconnaissance and can saturate multiple targets simultaneously. A second, more improved version was released at the same event in 2024, with the Swarm II getting a higher top speed of 100 kph (62 mph) and an endurance of more than an hour. It also gained the ability to carry multiple payloads, including reconnaissance pods, munitions, and relay communication devices. Aside from this, China’s first “drone carrier” amphibious assault ship has begun sea trials in late 2025, which could give it additional capabilities to launch drone strikes well away from its borders and hit relatively distant targets.

China isn’t the only country developing its own drone system — both Russia and Ukraine have extensively used drones in the conflict that began in 2022, while the U.S. Army is using 3D printing to build and repair drones on-site. As with any new weapon system, nations are also developing countermeasures against them. Some defense startups in the United States are working on an AI drone killer jet to intercept them in the air, while the U.S. military is testing microwave and laser systems that will take down multiple drones in a single shot. The Royal Navy is also equipping a destroyer with the experimental DragonFire laser system, designed to shoot down enemy drones at just $13 per shot.

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