China readies military for drone and robotic warfare with new specialized colleges

Representative image of China's "Jetank" mothership drone.Gettyimages On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) inaugurated several new training institutions to make its fighting force more “futureproof.” These include schools and colleges that will produce technical personnel and officers better able to understand and use technologies like drones and artificial intelligence (AI). This, according to reports, is part of Beijing’s “centennial goals” as part of the PLA’s 100th birthday in 2027. The hope is then to completely modernize the PLA by 2035, with it becoming a “world-class” force by the middle of the century. These schools are not about making a new “AI Army,” but rather a way to institutionalize skills into the PLA that Beijing believes will matter in future warfare. Arguably the most important of them is the so-called College of Unmanned and Intelligent Engineering. This particular training school will teach personnel about drones, autonomous systems, robotics, AI-assisted decision-making, sensors, and communications. It will likely also include training on the engineering needed to integrate all of those into military units. This school doesn’t represent a new direction in the PLA’s rationale. China’s defense policy has been talking about moving towards a more “informationised” and increasingly “intelligentised” direction for years. Teaching old dogs new tricks However, this move makes it more formal, with President Xi calling for greater military use of unmanned intelligent technologies and networked information systems. The very fact that this has now been given a formal college inside the PLA’s Army Engineering University is telling, however. It suggests that the PLA now regards drones and AI as something to be taken seriously, rather than a niche military specialty. In other words, they’re becoming something that needs a permanent stream of trained engineers and officers. Other announced training institutions include two new non-commissioned officer (NCO) colleges. Such officers, in case you are unaware, tend to be experienced career soldiers with a status between enlisted and commissioned officers. For Western armies, they are hugely important roles, especially in technical fields that require complex equipment to be operated and maintained. They are also a vital relay in translating senior officer commands into actual physical actions. These new NCO schools include two related, but distinctly different roles. The first, called the College of Combat Support, will see people trained in operating and supporting battlefield systems, communications, engineering, electronic warfare, reconnaissance, etc. The second, called the College of Equipment Support, will train technicians responsible for keeping increasingly complicated weapons, vehicles, drones, and electronics operational. Futureproofing the PLA for drones and AI Taken together, this will mean that the PLA is looking to move forward as a fighting force packed with drones, sensors, and networked weapons operated by experienced and knowledgeable staff. There is also a fourth school announced that is noteworthy. That being the so-called College of Discipline Inspection, Law and Politics at the National Defence University’s (NDU) Xian campus. This appears to be an effort to tackle corruption within the PLA. Staff trained here will essentially build careers investigating misconduct, enforcing military regulations, and supervising officers. This supports Beijing’s titanic efforts to fight corruption within its military forces. Taken altogether, these new colleges are the PLA’s way to change the kind of officers and staff it produces to better prepare them for combat in a world dominated by drones and AI. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.