NEWSAR
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SRCSouth China Morning Post
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Right
WORDS87
ENT10
THU · 2026-07-30 · 13:30 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0730-97516
News/Could US subterranean warfare be a future threat to China’s …
NSR-2026-0730-97516News Report·EN·National Security

Could US subterranean warfare be a future threat to China’s military defences?

Chinese think tanks have warned that the United States may be developing underground warfare capabilities, posing a potential threat to China's national security. Military theorists are exploring the strategic potential of subterranean space as a future dimension of warfare, particularly as drones and precision-guided weapons become more prevalent in ground combat.

Liu ZhenSouth China Morning PostFiled 2026-07-30 · 13:30 GMTLean · Center-RightRead · 1 min
Could US subterranean warfare be a future threat to China’s military defences?
South China Morning PostFIG 01
Reading time
1min
Word count
87words
Sources cited
1cited
Entities identified
10entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

Chinese think tanks have warned that the United States may be developing underground warfare capabilities, posing a potential threat to China's national security. Military theorists are exploring the strategic potential of subterranean space as a future dimension of warfare, particularly as drones and precision-guided weapons become more prevalent in ground combat. Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, has promoted the concept of a "subterrene," a vehicle designed to move through the Earth's crust similarly to how submarines operate underwater. This development suggests a potential shift in military strategy towards exploiting underground environments.

Confidence 0.85Sources 1Claims 4Entities 10
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
National Security
Technology
Tone
Mixed Tone
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.40 / 1.00
Mixed
LowHigh
Sources cited
1
Limited
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

4 extracted
01

Palmer Luckey has promoted the concept of a 'subterrene', a vehicle capable of moving through the Earth's crust.

quotePalmer Luckey
Confidence
1.00
02

Military theorists are exploring the strategic potential of subterranean space as a possible dimension of future warfare.

factual
Confidence
0.90
03

China should guard against the potential threat to its national security from US subterranean warfare capabilities.

predictionChinese think tanks
Confidence
0.70
04

The United States could be developing underground warfare powers.

prediction
Confidence
0.60
§ 04

Full report

1 min read · 87 words
The United States could be developing underground warfare powers and China should guard against the potential threat to its national security, Chinese think tanks have warned.As drones and precision-guided weapons increasingly dominate ground combat in conflicts, military theorists are exploring the strategic potential of subterranean space as a possible dimension of future warfare.Palmer Luckey, founder of defence technology company Anduril, has promoted the concept of a “subterrene” – a vehicle capable of moving through the Earth’s crust in much the same way that submarines navigate under water.
§ 05

Entities

10 identified
§ 06

Keywords & salience

9 terms
subterranean warfare
1.00
future warfare
0.90
china military defences
0.80
national security
0.70
subterrene
0.60
defence technology
0.50
strategic potential
0.40
drones
0.40
precision-guided weapons
0.40
§ 07

Topic connections

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