China‘s military is developing advanced psychological warfare and brain-influencing weapons as part of a new warfighting strategy, according to a report on People’s Liberation Army cognitive warfare.

The report, “Warfare in the Cognitive Age: NeuroStrike and the PLA’s Advanced Psychological Weapons and Tactics,” was published earlier this month by The CCP Biothreats Initiative, a research group.

“The PLA is at the forefront of incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and novel biological weapons into its military strategies,” the think tank’s analysts concluded.

The report identified two recent studies by China‘s army that open-source researchers say indicate the Chinese military is augmenting “hard power” weapons with new types of arms to help win wars without conventional weapons.

The new arms include biological weapons designed to induce sleep or sleep-related disturbances in enemy troops. The goal is to impair cognition and alertness.

Other weapons involve devices that establish a direct connection between the brain and external technology, designed to influence cognitive processes and decision-making. Brain-controlled weapons are also being developed to enable precise targeting and manipulation of cognitive functions in enemy troops or leaders.

The Chinese army is also working on advanced arms that can be controlled directly by a soldier’s thoughts and will seek cognitive manipulation and control of enemies.