Airbus is dipping its toes into the humanoid robot workforce with a purchase of China-based UBTech’s robots, according to Bloomberg. The European airplane manufacturer is apparently going to try to put humanoid robots on the assembly line, as the deal includes a plan to work together with UBTech on integrating robots into the airplane-building process.
Airbus ordered UBTech’s Walker S2, a full-size humanoid that stands 176 cm tall (5’9″), weighs 70 kg (154 lbs), and walks at about two meters/second (4.5 mph). It has dextrous hands with 11 degrees of freedom and tactile sensors, and can hold 7.5 kg (16.5 lbs) in each hand and 1 kg (2.2 lbs) with each finger.
The Walker S2 can also hot-swap its own batteries, and UBTech said in November of 2025 it was the first humanoid robot to be able to do so. Particularly useful for production environments, the Walker S2 can pivot on its waist almost 180 degrees, enabling it to quickly move components or work on other parts without shifting its feet.
There is an external emergency stop button and power switch, located on the robot’s back.
UBTech has already shipped about 1,000 humanoid robots, putting it in third place behind Agibot and Unitree for shipments globally and ahead of western robotics manufacturers like Figure AI, Agility Robotics, Tesla, Apptronik, and Hyudai-owned Boston Dynamics. It’s also ahead of European humanoid robot companies like Neura Robotics, based in Berlin, and the newly-funded Generative Bionics, which is based in Italy.
UBTech is targeting a production capacity of 5,000 industrial humanoid robots this year, and 10,000 for 2027, and as of November 2025 said that it had already sold $112 million worth of humanoid robots. If the reported production numbers are correct, that would indicate an average six-figure price tag for each humanoid: $112,000 each. That price should fall quickly as UBTech scales production over the next few years.
The companies did not announce details of the agreement, including the number of robots purchased or pricing. Almost certainly this is an initial deal for demonstration and testing purposes.
I’ve asked Airbus if the company is also buying and testing humanoid robots from European manufacturers, and will update this story as the company responds.
The Bank of America has estimated that mass adoption of humanoid robots will start in 2028. Because it’s so significant to labor costs and manufacturing capability, humanoid robot development is the “space race of our time,” says Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
If so, China is half-way to the moon, and other countries have some catching up to do.
