Research · Georgetown CSET
Table 1 draws on 14 challenges from a dataset of documents published by the PLA between January 2023 and December
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◌ Single Source
These challenges underscore three points:.
Key facts
- This report examines thousands of Chinese-language open-source requests for proposal (RFPs) published by the People’s Liberation Army between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024
- Table 1 draws on 14 challenges from a dataset of documents published by the PLA between January 2023 and December 2024
- The keyword “Challenge” yielded approximately 90 related documents, summarized in Table 1, with 14 main challenges of interest
- As for the second finding, 5 of the 14 challenges explicitly reference offense-defense or “attack-defend” applications for UAVs and AI
Summary
While demonstrating technical proficiency, challenges and competitions can reveal China’s People's Liberation Army’s (PLA) key priorities, bottlenecks, and institutional dynamics within its defense innovation system, which would otherwise be difficult to observe. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has turned to technology-focused challenges and competitions to help prepare for future conflict. The data reveals three main findings: 1) the PLA is pursuing multi-domain/cross-domain integration (e.g., air and cyberspace), 2) the PLA is highly interested in unmanned technological innovation (i.e., UAVs) and new efforts on UAV countermeasures, and 3) the PLA continues to broaden its network of partners across academia, the military, and industry to further military-civil fusion. The first finding points to evidence of the PLA’s commitmentto integrated joint operations across ground, air, sea, space, cyberspace, and information domains via technology competitions.
Table 1 draws on 14 challenges from a dataset of documents published by the PLA between January 2023 and December 2024.