Spy drones: In what can be termed as China upping the ante, reports from the US military establishment reveal that Chinese military may soon use two high-altitude supersonic spy drones that travels at Mach 3 speed, according to US media reports appearing late on Tuesday. The report quoted a secret dispatch from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to buttress its claim.
The document which features satellite imagery dated August 9 clearly reveal two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles (560km) inland from Shanghai.
First unmanned aerial vehicle unit
Meanwhile, U.S. reports say that 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 Theater Command.
This branch of the Chinese military is given the task of enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the media house further reported.
However, the U.S. Defense Department refused to be drawn into making an official comment on the matter. Even the Chinese government could not be accessed for getting an official comment.
Classified files posted on messaging app
The US media house claimed it got news of the Chinese program from a clutch of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app. It was reportedly posted by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who was arrested last week.
As a result of this action, the FBI on Thursday arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, over the leaks of these classified documents which embarrassed Washington no end.
The leaks first became public knowledge earlier this month, setting alarm bells ringing in Washington about the likely damage they may have caused. The incident embarrassed the U.S. by revealing its spying on allies as also purported Ukrainian military vulnerabilities.
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