China has set a Guinness World Record for the largest underwater drone formation, deploying 116 autonomous underwater vehicles in a coordinated swarm. Researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University and Xian Tianhe Maritime Technologies ran the demonstration on August 29 in a 50-by-20-metre pool, where the vehicles completed 500 metres of formation navigation over 34 minutes without human intervention. The record was certified by Guinness World Records and announced in late September. Each TH-618 drone is 61.5 centimetres long, 20 centimetres wide and weighs 5.14 kilograms, using camera-based vision to coordinate. They have a range of 30 kilometres and more than eight hours of battery life. The swarm demonstration showcased how low-cost underwater robots can survey wide areas together. Such technology has applications in marine research, underwater inspection and ocean mapping, though similar swarms are being studied by navies worldwide for surveillance roles. The record was confirmed by Guinness World Records after the full 34-minute run was completed without human control.