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China Studies Ukraine as a Live War Lab—and Turns Battlefield Lessons Into PLA Training
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
China is conducting a large-scale, systematic study of Russia’s war against Ukraine, treating the battlefield as a “live textbook,” according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published on October 7.
CSIS analysts reviewed more than 90 verified Chinese sources published between July 2022 and August 2026 and found that Chinese military thinkers are closely tracking how warfare is evolving in Ukraine.
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Some Chinese analysts have described 2024 as “the first year of the global drone war,” reflecting the degree to which unmanned systems have reshaped operations on land, at sea, and in the air.
Since that time, they are feeding lessons from drones, electronic warfare, naval attacks, and deep strikes into the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army,
According to the study, Chinese specialists can identify and document new battlefield tactics within roughly four months of their appearance, although integrating those lessons into doctrine, training, or procurement generally takes at least a year.
The PLA is studying the war largely from the perspective of a force that could itself become the target of similar tactics, placing particular emphasis on defensive measures. Ukrainian operations involving naval drones and strikes against Russian air bases have attracted especially close attention.
One of the clearest examples came after Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb in June 2025, when Ukrainian forces struck Russian strategic bombers at airfields deep inside Russia. Just 4.5 months later, according to CSIS, Chinese troops were already practicing defenses against comparable infiltration tactics.
China is also closely examining Ukraine’s use of fiber-optic FPV drones, which resist conventional radio-frequency jamming, as well as the evolving contest between unmanned systems and electronic warfare. Elements of those lessons are already appearing in Chinese military exercises.
To accelerate that process, the PLA has expanded reforms to its military education system and established new specialized universities intended to prepare personnel for emerging forms of warfare.
China’s defense industry is moving in parallel. CSIS found that Chinese companies are already displaying weapons influenced by lessons from Ukraine, including laser and microwave systems designed to defeat large numbers of drones.
The research suggests Beijing is not simply observing which weapons perform well, but studying how entire battlefield systems interact—from reconnaissance and electronic warfare to logistics, command structures, and layered drone defenses.
Previously, reports emerged that China was accelerating its naval modernization by constructing what appears to be the world’s first mothership designed to deploy full-sized uncrewed submarines.
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