TYE GRAHAM and PETER W. SINGER
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Imagine powered exoskeletons that enable soldiers to operate in the world’s most austere regions. Accompanied by robotic dogs and cargo drones, the troops can move through snow, easily carrying over 100 pounds of gear.
This is no longer science fiction. Earlier this year, China’s People’s Liberation Army executed an "intelligent logistics devices” exercise on the far-western Karakoram Plateau of the Xinjiang Military District, part of a push to move such gear from demonstrations to deployment.
China has spent the last several years building a diverse exoskeleton research-and-development ecosystem: In 2019, the PLA hosted a “Super Warrior” contest in which 50-plus prototypes from 25 developers competed in categories such as lightweight mobility, heavy-load marching, and munitions handling. This broad base suggests China’s exoskeleton R&D is not limited to one program, but is spread among state-supported primes, private venture players, and universities, each tackling aspects like materials, power systems, and artificial intelligence for gait assistance.
In 2020, state-owned defense conglomerate Norinco delivered a passive, backpack‑style frame to troops on the Tibet border. Their positive feedback triggered a follow‑on contract one month later. Separately, engineers at state-owned aerospace firm CASIC developed a powered frame with an electric‑motor drive and a swappable battery pack, unveiled in 2021 as the ‘Portable Ammunition Support Assist’ suit. This version adds roughly 44 pounds of lift, records usage data on a tablet, and straps on in under 40 seconds. PLA testers report the suit off‑loads more than 50 percent of the weight burden and lets one soldier haul a 110-pound ammo box “without much effort.”
A lighter, knee-only brace surfaced at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow. Built by Beijing Precision Mechatronics, the device injects 55 pounds of torque during ascent, but weighs only a few pounds. Though marketed for military special operations work, exhibitors noted the knee brace is small enough for tourist or industrial markets—a perfect example of China’s military-civil fusion ecosystem.
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