A CHINESE defence firm has unveiled a terrifying new battle truck which can unleash a swarm of killer drones behind enemy lines.

The armoured war machine - based on a Russian Tigr vehicle - can direct the drones so they simultaneously converge on targets and detonate their explosive payloads.

4 The truck's deadly drone system can search for and destroy its own targets Credit: Chinese Internet

The mighty YJ2080 is equipped with 12 launch tubes - four for reconnaissance drones and the other eight for explosive laden drones which can travel at 110mph.

Its mission will be to eliminate targets beyond traditional line of sight and kill from above with four pound bombs.

The truck's deadly drone system can search for and destroy its own targets, reports Popular Mechanics.

Earlier this year, China revealed a lethal fully autonomous drones that can carry out targeted military strikes

The killer drones and pilotless aircraft are fitted with AK-47 rifles and are already being exported to combat zones in the Middle East.

US national security think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) said in a report that Chinese officials see this AI ‘arms race’ as a threat to global peace.

4 China's new truck is a licensed copy of Russia's Tigr 4x4 armoured vehicle Credit: Getty - Contributor

4 China is unleashing lethal fully autonomous drones that can carry out targeted military strikes

One example is the Blowfish A2 drone, which China exports internationally and which Mr Allen says is advertised as being capable of “full autonomy all the way up to targeted strikes.”

The Blowfish A2 “autonomously performs complex combat missions, including fixed-point timing detection and fixed-range reconnaissance, and targeted precision strikes.”

Depending on customer preferences, Chinese military drone manufacturer Ziyan offers to equip Blowfish A2 with either missiles or machine guns.

China is also interested in using AI for military command decision-making.

According to the report, Zeng Yi, a senior executive at China’s third largest defense company, said AI will be at the core of future warfare.

“Mechanized equipment is just like the hand of the human body. In future intelligent wars, AI systems will be just like the brain of the human body,” Zeng said, according to the report.

He added that “AI may completely change the current command structure, which is dominated by humans” to one that is dominated by an “AI cluster.”

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This opinion is consistent with broader thinking in Chinese military circles.

Mr Allen said that until globally-recognised definitions for autonomous robot warfare are drawn up, there’s an increased risk of inadvertent escalation.

In August of last year, experts from dozens of countries met at the UN to discuss how to deal with these kinds of weapon systems.

Some top advocacy groups say governments and military forces should be prevented from developing such systems.

4 The deadly weapons are being exported to countries across the world