A shark ‘bot like this could be used in wartime to gather intelligence or during periods of peace to spy on Chinese citizens (Provider: Sina Corp)

A creepy ‘bionic machine shark’ designed to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions has been unveiled at a military trade show in China.

The robot is life-size and described as ‘very eye-catching’ by people who encountered it swimming in a tank in the China National Convention Center in Beijing.

The metal monster was revealed alongside cutting edge military equipment including killer drones armed with guns and missiles.

China has a history of using drones disguised as animals to spy on its citizens, although it’s not clear if they have also been used by the military to snoop on enemies.




In 2018 it unleashed flocks of ‘spy birds’ over the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which is home to a large Muslim population.

Its scientists have also previously designed small robot fish equipped with cameras and small enough to swim into small spaces.

Another of the shark ‘bot (Provider: Sina Corp)

Pictures of the robot shark and a description of the fearsome machine were published on the Chinese website Sina.

It wrote: ‘At the exhibition, dozens of domestic and foreign manufacturers brought a variety of military and civilian equipment exhibits from sea, land, air and sky. Many exhibits also made their debut, attracting a lot of attention.

‘The bionic machine shark is about the size of a real shark and is displayed in a huge tank.

‘It is reported that this is a high-speed, large-load, low-noise ocean-like bionic tree robot platform based on sharks. Ability to perform a variety of tasks such as monitoring, tracking, searching, and reconnaissance.’