Sam Bresnick, Emelia S. Probasco, and Cole McFaul
At China’s Victory Day parade in September 2025, it was not the marching troops or rolling tanks that made headlines, but the next-generation weapons systems on display. Uncrewed ground vehicles, underwater and aerial drones, and collaborative combat aircraft—autonomous jets that fly alongside piloted aircraft to aid missions—were presented as core components of China’s future fighting force. The exhibition of these systems sent a message about how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) intends to leverage emerging technologies for battlefield advantage. Seen from Washington, the parade underscored Beijing’s ambition to erode the United States’ technological edge.
China has stated that its long-planned military modernization will unfold in three distinct but overlapping phases: mechanization, or the adoption of modern machinery and equipment; informatization, or the incorporation of advanced information technologies and cybernetworks to link military platforms and enable real-time information sharing; and intelligentization, or the application of artificial intelligence to automate operations and support decision-making. So far, China has made significant progress in realizing the first two aims. Its mechanization drive has provided the Chinese military with the ships, tanks, and aircraft it once lacked. Informatization has connected those platforms and sensors through data links and digital communications networks.
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