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A Chinese team made a big splash with a drone swarm world record

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A Chinese team made a big splash with a drone swarm world record

Researchers have set a record for the largest swarm of underwater drones in history. Officially recognized by Guinness World Records, the trial saw 116 TH-618 drones deployed in a 164 ft by 65 ft pool, where they autonomously executed a series of formations and maneuvers. (For comparison, and Olympic-sized swimming pool is approximately 164 ft by 82 ft.)

The August 2026 test has strong ties to the People's Republic of China's military pipeline. It was conducted by researchers at Northwestern Polytechnical University, an institution designated by the US government as a developer of technologies for the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The university conducted the experiment in conjunction with Xi'an Tianhe Maritime Technologies, a subsidiary of defense contractor Xian Tianhe Defense Technology.

According to the South China Morning Post, the university said that developing submersible drone swarms "has always been a core challenge in the global field of underwater intelligent equipment. This time, the stable navigation of a cluster of hundreds of vehicles represents a breakthrough in the large-scale coordinated navigation of underwater unmanned systems."

The record-setting day could prove a major milestone in the PLA's development of autonomous drone swarms — an increasingly vital point of emphasis in the Eastern power's military buildup. Currently the world's largest navy, the PLA Navy (PLAN) is largely made up of smaller nimble ships designed to patrol the contested littoral waters of the South China Sea. And while the nation has commissioned three aircraft carriers in the last decade and a half, its fleet still lags behind the United States in total fire power.


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