China has launched a swarm of 119 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), breaking its previous record of a swarm of 67 drones, according to the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC).

The drones performed catapult-assisted take-offs and formations during the flight. 

According to the CETC, "swarm intelligence" is regarded as the core of artificial intelligence of unmanned systems and their future.

Drones flying /CETC gif

Drones flying /CETC gif

Drones taking off /CETC gif

Drone swarms enjoy characteristics such as the ability to cover large areas, low cost and multi-functionality, which allows them to be useful in a host of applications beyond warfare.

One prominent use of such technology lies in the field of emergency response, including search and rescue, forest fire monitoring and fighting, and flood and earthquake response.

The first record of 67 drones was set at Airshow China 2016 in Zhuhai City, southern Guangdong Province, which at the time broke the previous record of 50 set by the US Navy. 

The US Navy tested 103 micro swarming drones in January this year. 

Zhao Yanjie, an engineer with CETC, said that since the invention of drones in 1917, intelligent swarms have become a disruptive force to "change the rules of the game". 

(With inputs from Xinhua)