Chinese deploy WZ-8 drone to base within reach of Taiwan
A Chinese supersonic drone capable of spearheading an attack on Taiwan has been spotted at an upgraded military base.
US satellite imagery shows a WZ-8 reconnaissance drone parked outside newly built hangars in the Lu’an airbase in eastern China, a bomber base that has been revamped to host the drone.
Defence News, a US-based military news site, obtained the image, which was dated December 21, from the US imaging company Planet Labs.
The unmanned aircraft can conduct strategic aerial reconnaissance across southeast Asia, including Taiwan and South Korea. First shown to the public in 2019, it provides pre-strike targeting information for long-range missile attacks and can carry post-strike assessments.
Andreas Rupprecht, an author of several books on Chinese military aviation, said that the airbase is
