ISLAMABAD: The Chinese military could soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that can travel at least three times the speed of sound, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday citing a leaked US military assessment, a development that would dramatically strengthen Beijing’s ability to conduct surveillance operations.
A secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, not reported previously, showcases technological advances of the Chinese military that could help it target US warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region.
The document features satellite imagery dated August 9 showing two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, located about 350 miles inland from Shanghai. The drones are based on a cutting-edge surveillance system that could help Beijing gather real-time mapping data to assist in strategy or carry out missile strikes in a future conflict.
According to the assessment, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “almost certainly” established its first drone unit at the base, which comes under the Eastern Theater Command, the Chinese military’s branch responsible for enforcing Beijing’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
The leak
The Post said it obtained the assessment of the WZ-8 program from a cache of images of classified files posted on Discord, a chat platform popular with gamers, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
The Defense Department declined to comment on the matter. China’s Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a faxed request for comment by the Post.
Other documents in the trove of images detail various disclosures about Chinese spying and military modernization, including intelligence that revealed the existence of more Chinese spy balloons and an assessment pointing out to Taiwan’s lack of preparation for preventing early Chinese air superiority during an invasion.
