--- title: "China Shows Off Drone That Drops Robodog With Huge Gun Anywhere" description: "A video has gone viral of a massive drone dropping off a machine gun-wielding robot dog, a terrifying vision of the future of warfare." date: "2022-10-06" modified: "2022-10-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-drone-robodog-huge-gun" categories: - "Drones" - "Robot Dogs" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "boston dynamics" - "china" - "robodog" - "the digest" --- # China Shows Off Drone That Drops Robodog With Huge Gun Anywhere ![A video has gone viral of a massive drone dropping off a machine gun-wielding robot dog, a terrifying vision of the future of warfare.]() *\Image: Kestrel Defense Blood-Wing\* ## Air Drop A video [has gone viral]() of a large drone dropping off a gun-wielding robot dog, a terrifying vision of what the future of warfare and policing could soon look like. The footage shows a sizable octocopter drone dropping off its armed payload on a rooftop in an urban area. The robodog then springs to life and stretches its legs. The robot [appears to be carrying]() a modified, semiautomatic assault rifle, which has been the service rifle for the People's Liberation Army and paramilitary agencies in China since 1995. The clip was shared by an account called Kestrel Defense Blood-Wing [on Chinese social media](). According to a rough Google translation of the account's description of the video, "war dogs" that "descend from the sky" can be "directly inserted into the weak links behind the enemy to carry out surprise attacks," be delivered "to the top of enemy buildings," or provide fire suppression. https://twitter.com/LiaWongOSINT/status/1577209925255561216 ## War Dogs Needless to say, it's a controversial use of the technology. Just this week, Boston Dynamics, maker of the popular Spot Mini robodog, which bears a striking resemblance to the robot in the video, [announced]() a pledge to never weaponize any of its robots. That hasn't stopped others from arming quadruped robots. Several US defense contractors [have shown off prototypes]() of four-legged robots carrying large weapons. And last year, a Russian tinkerer strapped a submachine gun to a Chinese robodog, firing off rounds after rounds in [an alarming video](). It's unclear if we'll ever see robot dogs being air dropped from the sky via drones — but, as the video demonstrates, the technology definitely already exists. **More on robot dogs:** *[New York is Deploying Robot Dogs to Fight Fires Now]()* ## 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]()