China Unveils Mosquito Drone for Espionage and Rescue Missions

4 JUL 2025 18:11

In June 2025, engineers from China's National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) presented their latest achievement to the public: a microscopic unmanned aerial vehicle that is almost indistinguishable from an ordinary mosquito in its size and appearance. This innovation, which combines biological design and advanced technologies, could revolutionize both the military and civilian sectors.

Military application: an unnoticed scout on the battlefield

The main advantage of the micro-drone is that it is almost unnoticeable. Thanks to its extremely small size and silent flight, it becomes an ideal tool for collecting intelligence data in war zones without being detected by the enemy.

"Such small devices are usually effective for collecting and transmitting information on the battlefield," noted Liang Hexiang, a university student, in an interview with the Chinese television channel CCTV.

How does it work?

This tiny "insect" is equipped with high technologies. It is controlled via a regular smartphone and includes a micro camera, a microphone, motion sensors, and control systems. The device is capable of video recording and recording the surrounding environment, transmitting the collected data to the operator in real time.

The drone's design mimics an insect: it flaps its wings when flying, and its three thin legs allow it to land safely on any surface, further increasing the probability of remaining unnoticed.

Civilian sector: from medicine to ecology

However, the drone's potential is not limited only to the military sector. According to the developers, the device can be used for a number of peaceful purposes, including:

In surgery, to perform operations in hard-to-reach places,
For the purpose of health monitoring,
During rescue operations, to find people trapped under rubble,
For the purpose of ecological monitoring, to assess the state of the environment.
Competition in the micro-world

This Chinese project is not the only one in the field of micro-drones, but it is considered a new technological step. Previously created famous projects include the Norwegian palm-sized Black Hornet drone, which is widely used in NATO forces, and Harvard University's coin-sized RoboBee drone, which not only flies but can also dive into water.

Thus, the "mosquito-drone" created by Chinese engineers shows how quickly technologies are developing, opening up new possibilities and, at the same time, new challenges in the field of security.