PLA Drills Target Taiwan's Drone "Swarm" Strategy

The Chinese military has practiced destroying large groups of explosive drones, a tactic central to Taiwan's defense plans. New footage from China's state broadcaster CCTV shows People's Liberation Army (PLA) naval units conducting anti-drone exercises. The drills are part of the PLA's 2026 training cycle. In the simulation, an adversary "blue force" used many "suicide drones." These small, explosive unmanned aircraft were deployed in a swarm to simulate low-altitude attacks on ships. The exercise highlights a key modern warfare threat. Drone swarms are difficult to defend against because they can attack from many directions at once. Taiwan's military has invested heavily in such asymmetric defenses. These strategies use cheaper, numerous weapons like drones to counter a larger force. The PLA drills appear to directly practice countering this specific tactic.