---
title: "China’s Military Built an Autonomous Amphibious Landing Vehicle"
description: "China has announced what local media is calling the \"world's first armed amphibious drone boat.\""
date: "2019-04-19"
modified: "2019-04-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-autonomous-amphibious-boat"
categories:
  - "Military"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "amphibious vehicle"
  - "china"
  - "drone"
  - "the digest"
---

# China’s Military Built an Autonomous Amphibious Landing Vehicle

![China has announced what local media is calling the "world's first armed amphibious drone boat."](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/china-autonomous-amphibious-boat.png>)
*\<em\>Image:  China Shipbuilding Industry Company\</em\>*

## Marine Lizard

China has announced what local media [is calling](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1145839.shtml>) the "world's first armed amphibious drone boat."

The 39-foot-long Marine Lizard is designed to assist land assault operations and can form a web with other drone ships and airborne drones in order to act in tandem with them. It can reach a maximum of 50 knots (roughly 57 mph) in the water thanks to a diesel hydrojet engine — and on land it can reach only 12 mph (20 km/h) thanks to four track units mounted to its underbelly.

## Autonomous Drone Ship

The Marine Lizard was built by the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Company (CSIC) to be truly autonomous: it can find its own way, maneuver around obstacles, or be remotely controlled via satellites with an impressive operating range of 7,450 miles (1,2000 km). When not in use, the vehicle can go into sleep mode for up to eight months while it's not in operation, [according to the *Global Times*](<http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1145839.shtml>).

The unusual amphibian drone is touted as a great way to assist recon missions from both aerial drones and other ships — and could do so very efficiently and with a low risk of casualties, according to the company.

**READ MORE:** [China unveils the first autonomous amphibious military landing vehicle](<https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18507541/chinese-military-marine-lizard-amphibious-autonomous-marine-landing-vehicle>) \[The Verge\]

**More on unmanned ships:** ***[The U.S. Navy Wants to Roll out Autonomous Killer Robot Ships](<https://futurism.com/us-navy-autonomous-killer-robot-ships>)***

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)