Swarm with dozens of drones
China‘s “Atlas” is designed to overload enemy air defenses
Updated March 25, 2026 – 7:34 p.mReading time: 2 min.
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China has developed a new weapon system and says it has successfully tested it. “Atlas” is supposed to launch dozens of drones – and let them act as a swarm.
Military experts agree that drones will play an increasingly important role in warfare in the future. Ukraine is currently considered a leader in the development and production of unmanned aircraft systems, and other European countries and the USA are also investing heavily in the technology. Now China has also presented a new type of drone system that shows the direction in which developments could go.
“Atlas” is the name of the new weapon system that Chinese state media is reporting on these days. The central component is a launching device that can get 48 different drones into the air within a short period of time. The control vehicle can even control 96 drones at the same time – and use artificial intelligence to let them act as a swarm. These recordings shared on social media are said to show the launch of an “Atlas” drone swarm:
The Chinese state newspaper “Global Times” reports that “Atlas” was recently successfully tested. During the test, three similar-looking vehicles were set up as targets. “Atlas” initially launched reconnaissance drones that scouted out the targets, it is said; Kamikaze drones then took off and hit the three target vehicles. In addition, “Atlas” can also launch drones that paralyze enemy units through electronic jamming measures, it is said.
According to Chinese military expert Wang Yunfei, an “Atlas” drone swarm could be used to overload enemy anti-aircraft positions with the sheer mass of flying objects. Lurking attacks are also possible, in which the drones initially circle in the air until a possible target appears. In addition, the “Atlas” drones can hit targets at great distances, while remaining undetected by enemy radar thanks to their small size and low altitude, said Wang Yunfei in the Global Times.
