China merges civil and military industry into a missile machine

Published on May 16, 2026 | Translated from Spanish

Beijing has accelerated missile production to unprecedented levels, dragging along technology companies that previously manufactured civilian components. According to Reuters, thermal camera and fiber optic companies now report record profits by integrating into the country's most ambitious military program. Xi Jinping promotes this merger as a strategic economic engine.

Chinese factory floor assembly line converting civilian thermal camera components into missile guidance systems, workers in white cleanroom suits installing fiber optic gyroscopes onto metallic missile fuselage sections, robotic arms soldering circuit boards with precision, holographic blueprint overlay showing dual-use technology integration, cinematic engineering visualization, dramatic overhead lighting reflecting off polished metal surfaces, steam rising from cooling systems, motion blur on conveyor belt movement, photorealistic technical illustration, ultra-detailed mechanical parts and electronic components

Dual-use technology: from fiber optics to attack vector 🚀

Companies that produced sensors for agricultural drones or telecommunications cables are converting their lines toward military components. High-capacity fiber optics are now used in guidance systems, while civilian thermal cameras are adapted for target seekers. The Chinese government incentivizes this duality with state contracts that guarantee stable demand and high margins, without the need to radically change supply chains.

Your next router might fly in a missile 🎯

If you ever wondered why your new Chinese thermal camera took so long to arrive, it might have had technical stopovers at a military base. Now, when you buy cheap fiber optics for your home, think that the surplus batch could end up guiding a projectile. State capitalism has these details: one day you manufacture routers and the next you become a defense supplier without changing your job position.