Reports on Monday, Aug. 5, indicate an elite Chinese special forces unit showed off a new drone designed to look like a bird during a shooting competition on Thursday, Aug. 1. The unit, similar U.S. Navy SEALs, had a commando display the new technology as he emerged from the water and released the drone from his hand.
The drone is too small for any payload. However, its purpose is reportedly for covert reconnaissance. The biomimetic drone is meant to resemble a Eurasian Tree Sparrow and China’s military said that it can fly without being spotted by enemy radar.
The idea of bird drones is also being experimented with in the United States. Although, the one in the U.S. is a “zombie bird drone,” and it is more for research purposes. Straight Arrow News reported on it as scientists used synthetic body parts fused with real pheasant heads and feathers to create robotic birds.
While researchers said that the zombie pheasant was originally thought up to better observe nature up-close, there is the potential for it to be used by the U.S. military.
A similar program was proposed during the Cold War. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly pitched the idea of nuclear-powered drones disguised as birds to spy on the Russians. However, the idea never took off.
Another Chinese company also unveiled a robotic fish for potential underwater surveillance in 2021.
