In February 2025, China’s state-owned defense giant Norinco took center stage, unveiling a military vehicle capable of autonomously conducting combat-support operations at speeds up to 50 kilometers per hour. The Norinco P60, powered by DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) models, was quickly touted by Communist Party officials as a sign of Beijing’s accelerating progress in the global AI arms race—particularly against the United States. It’s a showcase that’s as much about technological prowess as it is about geopolitical posturing, and it’s left many in the West scrambling to keep up.
According to Reuters, the Norinco P60’s debut was just the tip of the iceberg. A sweeping review of hundreds of research papers, patents, and procurement records reveals a systematic push by Beijing to harness AI for military advantage. While the intricate workings and full deployment status of China’s next-generation weapons remain tightly guarded state secrets, these documents offer rare clues into the country’s progress toward advanced capabilities like autonomous target recognition and real-time battlefield decision support—capabilities that closely mirror those pursued by the U.S. military.
China’s ambitions in military AI are hardly limited to vehicles. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is reportedly developing a suite of AI-powered technologies, including robot dogs that scout in packs, drone swarms that autonomously track targets, visually immersive command centers, and advanced war-game simulations. In November 2024, the PLA issued a tender for AI-powered robot dogs designed to scout for threats and clear explosive hazards. While it’s unclear whether this particular tender was fulfilled, state media has previously shown armed robot dogs from AI robotics manufacturer Unitree participating in military drills—a futuristic sight that’s no longer confined to science fiction.
Unitree’s robot dogs were even spotted climbing stairs during a demonstration for Reuters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in March 2025, underscoring the rapid pace of technological development. The PLA’s interest in these machines reflects a broader trend: a shift toward increasingly autonomous battlefield technology. Two dozen tenders and patents reviewed by Reuters show efforts to integrate AI into drones for target recognition, tracking, and even formation flying with minimal human intervention.
At the heart of many of these advances is DeepSeek, the AI model that has become the pride of China’s tech sector. DeepSeek’s influence extends far beyond military vehicles. Usage of DeepSeek models was indicated in a dozen tenders from PLA entities filed in 2025, while only one referenced Alibaba’s Qwen, a major domestic AI rival. DeepSeek-related procurement notices have accelerated throughout the year, with new military applications appearing regularly on the PLA network. This popularity reflects China’s pursuit of what Beijing calls “algorithmic sovereignty”—a drive to reduce dependence on Western technology while strengthening control over critical digital infrastructure.
Of course, the quest for AI supremacy is not without its complications. DeepSeek, for instance, made headlines earlier in 2025 when it was linked to a crash in the U.S. stock market that sent Nvidia’s stock price tumbling by more than 14%. Despite U.S. export controls imposed in September 2022—which banned Nvidia’s high-end A100 and H100 chips from being exported to China—the PLA and its affiliates continue to seek out and use Nvidia hardware. Reuters found 35 patent applications from military-linked research institutions referencing Nvidia’s A100 chips, while 15 cited Huawei’s Ascend chips as alternatives.
Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo told Reuters that the company can’t track individual resales of previously sold products, but he downplayed the significance: “Recycling small quantities of old, second-hand products doesn’t enable anything new or raise any national security concern. Using restricted products for military applications would be a nonstarter, without support, software, or maintenance.” Still, the persistent references to Nvidia hardware in recent patents—some as late as June 2025—highlight a continuing reliance on Western technology, even as Chinese defense contractors like Shanxi 100 Trust Information Technology tout their use of domestically produced components such as Huawei’s Ascend chips.
China’s efforts to localize its AI supply chain are further underscored by a public pressure campaign encouraging domestic firms to use homegrown technology. Sunny Cheung, a fellow at the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, analyzed several hundred PLA tenders and noted a marked increase in the use of contractors claiming exclusive reliance on Chinese-made hardware in 2025. While Reuters couldn’t independently confirm every claim, the trend aligns with Beijing’s broader strategic goals.
The practical impact of these AI systems is already being felt in military planning. Researchers at Landship Information Technology, a company that integrates AI into military vehicles (including Norinco’s), stated in a February 2025 white paper that their technology—built on Huawei chips—can rapidly identify targets from satellite imagery while coordinating with radars and aircraft. According to Xi’an Technological University, their DeepSeek-powered system was able to assess 10,000 battlefield scenarios in just 48 seconds—a task that would have taken a conventional team of planners 48 hours. Reuters notes that it could not independently verify these claims, but the implications are clear: AI is drastically shortening the time between identifying and acting on military intelligence.
Beihang University, renowned for its military aviation research, is also leveraging DeepSeek to improve drone swarm decision-making, particularly when targeting “low, slow, small” threats—a term that refers to drones and light aircraft. The push toward greater autonomy is evident, but Chinese defense leaders have publicly committed to maintaining human control over weapons systems. This stance is, at least in part, a response to growing international concern that a conflict between Beijing and Washington could spiral out of control with the unchecked deployment of AI-powered munitions.
The U.S. military, for its part, is not standing still. American officials plan to deploy thousands of autonomous drones by the end of 2025, aiming to counter China’s growing capabilities in unmanned aerial vehicles. The U.S. government has also formed a $1 billion partnership with Advanced Micro Devices to build supercomputers for national security applications, among other scientific pursuits.
In the realm of international politics, the race for AI supremacy is more than just a technological contest—it’s a battle for strategic advantage and influence. The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment on the PLA’s use of AI, but a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that “DeepSeek has willingly provided, and will likely continue to provide, support to China’s military and intelligence operations.” The spokesperson added that Washington would “pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries.”
As the world watches this high-stakes competition unfold, the lines between science fiction and reality blur a little more each day. With both China and the United States racing to integrate AI into every facet of their militaries, the future of warfare—and global security—looks set to be shaped as much by algorithms as by armies.
