Introduction: Humanoid robots embody the latest achievements in the development of artificial intelligence, and are the product of the integration of mechanization, informatization, and intelligence. They are the ultimate form of intelligent machines imitating and replacing humans. Military humanoid robots are a key link in achieving "zero casualties" through intelligent warfare where robots replace humans. It can be foreseen that in the future, with the maturity of humanoid robot technology and its gradual application in the military field, it is expected to become a new growth pole for military intelligence, following unmanned intelligent equipment such as drones, unmanned boats, unmanned submersibles, and unmanned vehicles. Sharp insight into the development opportunities of military humanoid robots. In recent years, with the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence and large-scale models, breakthroughs have been made in the key technology groups of humanoid robots' "brain", "cerebellum", and "ontology". Prototype products are flourishing, and application demands are gradually expanding. Some scenarios have already been implemented, and large-scale production is expected. It is no longer a dream for humanoid robots to enter human production and life. In October 2024, the internationally renowned research and consulting firm Gartner released the top ten strategic technology trends for 2025, with general-purpose humanoid robots among them. According to relevant institutions' predictions, the global market size of humanoid robots is expected to exceed 100 billion by 2028, and will grow into a trillion level market by 2035. Conservatively estimated, there will be over 3 million humanoid robots serving humans by then. Currently, major countries in the world attach great importance to the development and military applications of humanoid robots. In recent years, the US government has repeatedly released multiple versions of strategic documents such as the "US Robotics Roadmap" and the "US National Robotics Plan", while Russia has released strategic documents such as the "Future Application Concept of Robots for the Russian Army", and Japan has released strategic documents such as the "Robot White Paper" and "New Robot Strategy". Since the end of the 20th century, institutions such as the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have implemented projects such as the Joint Robotics Program and Standardized Robotics Systems, and have held several humanoid robot challenges. The United States, Russia, South Korea and other countries continue to explore the military applications of humanoid robots, and have successively developed military humanoid robot prototypes for various scenarios such as ground combat, fighter jet piloting, ship damage management, and battlefield rescue. Dialectically viewing the advantages and disadvantages of military humanoid robots in unmanned equipment systems, humanoid robots directly compete with robot dogs, unmanned vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned boats, unmanned submersibles, biomimetic unmanned systems, etc. Humanoid robots, through close collaboration of their eyes, brain, hands, and legs, integrate perceptual intelligence, decision-making intelligence, and motion intelligence, and have great potential to replace humans in various unstructured scenarios to complete complex, refined, and diverse tasks. The hand is the most agile organ in human limbs, and the development of the forelimb from a walking organ to a hand by hominids is a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of human evolution. Compared with other unmanned systems such as robotic dogs, humanoid robots have robotic arms and the ability to flexibly use tools, which can replace humans to do more refined work. Compared with fixed robotic arms, it can move freely and switch sites at any time to complete different types of tasks. In theory, a large number of military tasks that cannot be completed by humans with active unmanned systems can be included in the task requirements list for humanoid robots. Of course, compared with other unmanned equipment, humanoid robots also have their weaknesses in environmental adaptability and task adaptability. For example, humanoid robots cannot keep up with unmanned vehicles in speed, cannot pass through complex terrain in the wild as robotic dogs, and are also difficult to reach the sea like drones, unmanned boats, and unmanned submersibles. Currently, humanoid robots are more expensive and technically complex to implement compared to current unmanned equipment. Therefore, even if humanoid robots mature and become widely used in the future, they will not completely replace other unmanned systems, but will have different functional positioning and application scenarios. With their unique military value, they will form a clear division of labor and collaborative combat unmanned equipment system with other unmanned systems. Fully explore the military application scenarios of humanoid robots, combined with the future mission tasks and combat environment of the military, and fully consider the development prospects and possible breakthroughs of humanoid robot technology. Humanoid robots can form the following five categories of military application scenarios. Replace or collaborate with humans in ground combat. Ground combat is the most brutal and deadliest form of combat, and using combat type humanoid robots with comprehensive combat capabilities close to humans instead of infantry to fight against enemies in urban and field environments can significantly reduce casualties. Replace human control of small and medium-sized equipment for direct combat. Small and medium-sized combat platforms such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and fighter jets that directly engage in face-to-face combat with the enemy usually require human control and occupy a significant amount of human resources. Using humanoid robots as "equipment for operating equipment", intelligently empowering and operating these small and medium-sized manned devices can activate existing military assets and reduce casualties. Assist personnel in controlling large and medium-sized equipment for indirect combat. Large caliber artillery, bombers, strategic battle missiles, ships and other large and medium-sized equipment require multiple people to operate. By mixing humanoid robots and operators who can switch between different tasks at any time, it is possible to reduce personnel and increase efficiency, and reduce the number of personnel in the establishment of large and medium-sized equipment. Perform comprehensive support tasks on behalf of others. Humanoid robots can replace humans in various roles such as engineering, medical, equipment maintenance, and psychological counseling in equipment and logistics support, gradually reducing labor-intensive positions in the military. Replace or carry personnel into high-risk environments for operations. Humanoid robots replace or carry people into areas contaminated with nuclear, biological, and chemical substances, high-altitude, extremely hot, extremely cold environments, as well as high-risk environments such as deep sea, space, and deep earth that are not suitable for human activities. They operate various instruments, devices, equipment, etc. that were previously only operated by humans. The development path of scientific design for military humanoid robots can be divided into three periods: short-term, medium-term, and long-term, as well as three stages: primary, intermediate, and advanced. The overall planning and design of the development path of military humanoid robots can be gradually implemented from easy to difficult. The type of mission undertaken has evolved from auxiliary combat to main combat. From the perspectives of safety and technical feasibility, humanoid robots mainly perform non adversarial support tasks in low threat environments in the primary stage; After entering the advanced stage, it gradually upgrades to replace soldiers in strong adversarial environments to carry out direct combat missions with the enemy, and eventually develops into main combat equipment. The command and control mode has evolved from non autonomous to semi autonomous and fully autonomous. In the non autonomous and semi autonomous stages, the remote control methods of humanoid robots can evolve from button joystick remote control to motion capture remote control and brain control remote control. With the increase of its autonomy level, the command and control mode has evolved from mainly "people in the loop" to "people on the loop" and "people outside the loop". The power grouping method has evolved from human-machine hybrid to autonomous cluster. The ratio of operators to humanoid robots has evolved from "one control one" to "one control one" and then to "one control many". In the initial stage, humanoid robots are incorporated into the formation of living forces to implement human-machine collaborative combat; In the advanced stage, a small number of personnel command and control multiple humanoid robots, which then serve as the central node to command and control unmanned swarm operations. The pathway of ability generation has evolved from non evolutionable to self evolving and self-learning. In the initial stage, once the humanoid robot is produced, its technical and tactical indicators have been solidified; In the advanced stage, after the production of humanoid robots, they need to undergo systematic "eye brain hand" coordination training for various military tasks. Through individual learning and group collaborative learning, they can achieve rapid self evolution and continuously improve their combat capabilities. As a military humanoid robot with the potential to develop into a new type of equipment, the development and application theory of forward-looking innovative humanoid robots is still in the embryonic stage of insufficient exploration and unclear positioning. It is necessary to vigorously innovate its development and application theory in order to promote its good and rapid development. Refine military requirements and plan capability development. The system sorts out various possible application scenarios and their military requirements, classifies and merges related similar combat tasks to form a high-frequency universal task set, and optimizes the design of military humanoid robots based on this. According to the software definition concept, distinguish the relevant capability indicators such as strength, intensity, and endurance that can only be achieved using hardware, as well as the relevant capability indicators such as flexibility and adaptability that can be achieved using software, and determine the minimum capability requirements for military humanoid robot hardware and software. Clarify key operational issues and formulate operational rules. For combat type humanoid robots, combat rules are the key to regulating and constraining their combat use, avoiding errors and losing control, and maximizing combat effectiveness. It is necessary to clarify various combat application scenarios, identify key combat issues, especially in the issue of granting robots the right to fire, distinguish targets, space, time, degree of damage, etc., formulate detailed combat rules, and flexibly empower them as needed. For example, it is required that humanoid robots must obtain manual verification and permission before firing upon detecting enemy targets, or must first issue warnings and only fire after the warnings are ineffective; Require humanoid robots to distinguish between living and non living targets, select appropriate killing methods and degrees, and so on. Conduct ethical and legal research to avoid moral traps. Military humanoid robots are the most human like weapons to date, and the potential for indiscriminate and accidental use on a large scale is inevitably subject to legal charges and moral condemnation. In terms of ethics, military humanoid robots clearly violate Asimov's first law of "not harming humans" in the "Three Laws of Robotics", and require adaptive adjustments and revisions. In terms of legal principles, combat type humanoid robots should follow the main principles of the laws of war, such as the principle of necessity, the principle of humanity, the principle of distinction, the principle of limitation, the principle of proportionality, and the principle of good faith. In this regard, military humanoid robots should ensure at least three points: obedience to humans, inability to change the program attached to humans, and inability to violate user constraints and engage in abusive behavior; Respect people, strictly distinguish them from other objects, and cannot destroy them indiscriminately; Protecting people, timely stopping and limiting excessive use of violence, and not indiscriminately killing people. (New Society)