It sounds like something that came out of a sci-fi movie, but Brain control weapons are slowly coming to life through Chinese research and the development of biotechnology that can disorient enemies and make them easier to subdue. These types of weapons can potentially change the way we traditionally think about warfare in the future, where enemies could have an influence on a soldier’s cognitive functions.

In 2021, the US government discovered that various Chinese companies were involved with developing biotechnology that can potentially alter human’s brain-function, more specifically the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences and 11 other research and development institutions. As a result, 34 Chinese entities were added to the Federal Register’s blacklist as they were a threat to the national security of the United States.

Some of these entities include the Institute of Radiation and Radiation Medicine, the Institute of Basic Medicine; the Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, the Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology, the Institute of Medical Equipment, the Institute of Bioengineering, the Field Blood Transfusion Institute, the Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, and the Military Veterinary Research Institute.

Other companies such as the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 52nd Research Institute, Shaanxi Reactor Microelectronics Co. Ltd., and Shanghai AisinoChip Electronics Co., Ltd. were accused of supplying Chinese research institutions and the People’s Liberation Army with US-origin items that were vital with developing these biotechnology weapons. Some items of US origin were also used to support Iran’s missile and weapons programs. Similarly, companies from Turkey, Malaysia, and Georgia were also accused of supplying US-origin materials to Iran, which raises a security concern for the United States.

US intelligence had also revealed that the Chinese were pursuing an “intelligentization” of future combat through these research activities. The Chinese were said to be shifting from physically destroying bodies through bullets and explosives to paralyzing and controlling the enemies. These weapons, whose mechanical functions are currently unknown, can supposedly use cross-domain mobile warfare supplemented by artificial intelligence to pursue attrition warfare—slowly breaking down a soldier to the point that the mind is too weak to function on its own and cognitive performance can be manipulated through vulnerability resulting in brain control.

If a soldier is mentally broken down, it will make it easier for the enemies to manipulate them. Specifically, the biotech weapon would disorient and confuse the enemy forces to the point that they do not resist or have a lesser capacity to resist, thus making them easier to defeat. The goal was to lessen the enemy’s will to resist and not actually physically destroy their bodies; the brain is the main target for the offensive. However, the exact method of how to administer or launch these futuristic weapons has not been revealed.

Sources have revealed that Chinese operatives have made it a point to engage in espionage work in the United States or casually lure out high-ranking officials unknowingly in order to steal US top-secret technology in an effort to bolster the speed of their traditional and modern weaponry.

A report published by National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the following sectors are critical to economic and national security in the coming years due to their links with not just the economy but also warfare. These sectors include artificial intelligence, bioeconomy, autonomous systems, quantum information science and technology, and semiconductors. With these sectors being highly prized, they also remain tremendously vulnerable to US adversaries trying to obtain a competitive edge not just confined to China and Russia but also other countries who aim to use these technologies for warfare.

However, it is important to note that the aforementioned technologies aren’t just for warfare purposes. They primarily serve fields that aim to improve human quality of life, such as computer systems, automation of industries, and improved communication. Given these realities, they may also be used for developing advanced weaponry, and it may be difficult to contain such technology from being developed by other countries.

According to a report by the Financial Times, these espionage efforts were connected with the Chinese Government’s attempt to explore weaponry and technological advances in “gene editing, human performance enhancement, and brain-machine interfaces (which can be used for brain control).” It seems that the Chinese are pushing through with its goal of controlling the enemies’ brains, with reports surfacing that China has been merging the technology fields of their military, combining information, cognition, bio, and nano fields allegedly to develop these new brain-controlling weapons.