# China's robot fish goes viral at trade fair

> Boyagongdao's BG-5 golden arowana robot, displayed at Beijing's CIFTIS 2026, is an autonomous underwater drone with potential military and anti-poaching uses.
- Title: China's robot fish goes viral at trade fair · TechRadar
- Summary: Boyagongdao's BG-5 golden arowana robot, displayed at Beijing's CIFTIS 2026, is an autonomous underwater drone with potential military and anti-poaching…
- Keywords: boyagongdao, bg-5, robotic fish, autonomous underwater drone, ciftis 2026, military applications, anti-poaching, china, technology, China's, robot, fish
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/pro/chinas-autonomous-bionic-robot-fish-looks-just-like-the-real-one-perfect-for-covert-military-operations-robocean-bg5-could-also-be-used-to-track-poachers
- Published: 2026-09-20T00:05:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: boyagongdao, bg-5, robotic fish, autonomous underwater drone, ciftis 2026, military applications, anti-poaching, china, technology
## Golden robot fish goes viral
A robotic golden arowana made by Boyagongdao Marine Technology Group became one of the most shared clips from China International Fair for Trade in Services at Beijing's Shougang Park this month.
## What the BG-5 can do
The three kilogram, six hundred forty millimetre robot operates at a maximum depth of five metres with a top speed of zero point six metres per second, or approximately two point one six kilometres per hour.
## Specs kept under wraps
Boyagongdao has not published endurance, payload, or camera specifics, and it has not made any battery-life figures public, despite the robot's surveillance capabilities.
## Not a new design
The BG-5 is not new. Its product page carries images uploaded in August twenty twenty-three, and the company used it to illustrate a World Oceans Day post in June twenty twenty-three.
## Military focus is clear
Boyagongdao describes itself as a military-civil fusion enterprise, pitching its bionic robo-shark as a quiet platform with a sound-absorbing shell for concealment and its robo-ROV for underwater combat tasks.
## Company confirms military use
A company representative, Zhang Yu, said in a twenty twenty-five report its bionic technology can also be used in military and national defense fields.

> can also be used in military and national defense fields
## Anti-poaching potential
The golden arowana is an endangered species left vulnerable by over-harvesting for the aquarium trade. A surveillance fish lookalike could deter fishermen from attempting to catch the protected species.
## Undisclosed specs suggest single buyer
The relatively suspicious exclusion of hardware internals, capabilities, and endurance figures suggests the BG-5 may be aiming to cater to a single primary customer, despite the company's insistence on multiple use cases.
## Key takeaway

A robotic golden arowana fish displayed at China's trade fair has gone viral for its autonomous underwater surveillance capabilities, though the company has military applications in mind.