PLA's robot dogs demonstrate capabilities at China-Cambodia joint drills

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) deployed robot dogs during the ongoing China-Cambodia joint exercise, a move analysts said on Sunday indicated the technical sophistication of the intelligent equipment that can greatly enhance combat efficiency and reduce casualty.

During the adaptive training phase of the Golden Dragon-2024 joint exercise, the Chinese participating forces deployed a new type of robot dog that weighs 15 kilograms and is equipped with a 4D super-wide-angle sensing system, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday.

With a battery and power system that allows an endurance of two to four hours, the robot dog can perform maneuvers such as move forward and backward, jump and crouch, CCTV reported, noting that it can also independently arrange movement routes to avoid obstacles and quickly close in on its target.

In a simulated urban area, Chinese troops operated the robot dog with a remote control and had it conduct reconnaissance on the outer area of the streets and send back data on obstacles in the way.

Yang Zhisheng, a PLA soldier responsible for operating the robot dog during the drills, said that the robot can send reconnaissance data to command center in real time.

Another type of robot dog, a bigger one that weighs more than 50 kilograms, can conduct armed assault missions, the CCTV report shows.

In a training session in which several mock armed terrorists hid in a building, the robot dog, carrying a QBZ-95 assault rifle on its back, spearheaded an assault after breaching the building and quickly clearing the area, according to the CCTV report.

"It can replace our [human] teammates, conduct reconnaissance and attack. It has become a new member in our urban operations," Chen Wei, a member of the Chinese forces participating in the drills, said in the report.

The drills show that the PLA has been intensively testing multiple types of robot dogs in terms of technologies and tactics, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

Usually, a new equipment will not be brought into a joint exercise with another country, so the robot dogs must have reached a certain level of technical maturity, the expert said.

Capable of accompanying troops in high-risk tasks, robot dogs can greatly enhance combat efficiency and reduce casualty, the expert said.

Besides of robot dogs, multiple types of intelligent equipment including drones designed for armed reconnaissance and transport tasks were integrated in key sections in the drills, effectively enhanced the PLA's comprehensive combat capabilities, CCTV said.

Under the banner of "joint counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian relief" and being held separately on the land and at sea, the China-Cambodia Golden Dragon-2024 joint exercise kicked off at a training base in Cambodia on May 16.

Focusing on the rescue of hostages in urban regions, the elimination of enemies in mountainous camps and maritime anti-hijacking, the exercises are divided into three phases, namely the adaptation phase, the command phase and the live-action phase, CCTV reported at the time.

The drills aim at non-traditional security threats, including the common threats faced by humanity like terrorism, piracy and natural disaster, experts stressed.