WASHINGTON: A leaked US military assessment says the Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, The Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. The newspaper cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
The document, which Reuters could not confirm or verify independently, features satellite imagery dated Aug 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 560km inland from Shanghai, according to the newspaper.
The US assessment said China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “almost certainly” established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theatre Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the newspaper reported.
The US defense department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment. The Washington Post said it obtained the assessment of the program from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord.
The document, which Reuters could not confirm or verify independently, features satellite imagery dated Aug 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 560km inland from Shanghai, according to the newspaper.
The US assessment said China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “almost certainly” established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theatre Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the newspaper reported.
The US defense department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment. The Washington Post said it obtained the assessment of the program from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord.