At the IFA 2026 trade show in Berlin, the T800 robot, developed by the Chinese company EngineAI, demonstrated its physical capabilities by performing punches and kicks in front of attendees. According to a Reuters investigation, these robots are part of broader military research in China on combat-ready humanoids. While the robots were not designed for actual combat during the event, they are technically capable of engaging in such activities. At the EngineAI booth, the T800 performed controlled movements, such as feint punches and kicks, while visitors recorded the demonstrations from multiple angles. Nearby, two G1 robots from Unitree engaged in a simulated boxing match, with an operator controlling their movements remotely. However, some robots exhibited uncontrolled behaviors, such as a Volga Electronics humanoid striking a kung-fu stance after a customer bumped into it, and a test robot in China kicking a technician and slapping a child during a demonstration. These incidents occurred outside the controlled environment of the fair. Reuters' investigation uncovered more than 100 military tenders in China related to combat humanoids. Researchers at a national defense technology university recently simulated an urban combat scenario, envisioning a future where six combat robots—humanoids, robotic dogs, and unmanned vehicles—could accompany ground troops to clear buildings floor by floor. This equipment, according to the researchers, could be available in five to ten years. A July 2025 article in the People's Liberation Army Daily suggested that humanoids could be used for direct combat missions, not just support roles, including the possibility of a robot firing on a target previously identified by a human. Norinco, a state-owned defense company, unveiled its Fuxi robot in August, which can patrol and monitor sensitive areas under the control of a human operator. This reliance on human oversight mirrors the teleoperation seen in Unitree’s G1 robots at IFA. Experts caution that current robotic technology may not yet be suited for the unpredictable conditions of combat. Aaron Johnson, a mechanical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that combat environments involve too many variables for today’s robots to handle effectively. The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that autonomous weapons could misinterpret surrender signals, which depend on context, behavior, and intent. China’s Ministry of Defense emphasized in March that AI weapons must remain under human control. In China, robot combat is evolving from a novelty at trade shows to a competitive sport. The Ultimate Robot Knockout Legend league, launched in February 2026, is currently running until December 2026, with a prize pool of nearly 1.3 million euros. Teams receive free T800 units from EngineAI and can customize them for competition. While the base model of the T800 costs around 38,000 euros, the reinforced version reaches 75,000 euros. Despite the growing interest in robot combat, some investors remain skeptical about the profitability of these machines. Unitree’s stock, listed on Shanghai’s STAR market in August 2026, saw a dramatic rise of 460% on its first day of trading, only to fall 45% in the following three days, wiping nearly 28 billion euros from its market value. Meanwhile, the company reported a 53% drop in net profit in the first quarter of 2026, despite its robots setting world records in speed and agility at the Beijing World Humanoid Robot Games. Malcolm Davis, a principal analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, noted that while humanoid robots are not currently viable on the battlefield, they could become operational within five to ten years. As research and competition in this field continue to grow, the potential for these machines to play a role in both military and civilian applications remains a topic of global interest and debate.