PLA spy drone circles Taiwan again as Beijing tests new tactics
- Unmanned aerial vehicle loops around island as jammer plane and other military aircraft patrol west of the island and hover near median line
- Observers say operations signal mainland plans to routinely deploy drones and is experimenting with electromagnetic warfare techniques
It was at least the second time the ministry has detected mainland drones engaged in so-called island encirclement patrols with warplanes, showing drone deployment would become a routine operation, analysts said.
“The deployment of drones to Taiwan’s air identification zone is a low-cost and effective approach by the PLA to test and consider some new tactics, which will definitely become routine operations,” said Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung.
A flight tracking map released by the ministry showed a BZK-005 long-range drone had looped around the eastern side of the island, flying clockwise from north to south, while other aircraft hovered to the southwest and near the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait.
Observers said the use of a Y-8 EW, or electronic warfare jammer, indicated Beijing might be testing new electromagnetic warfare tactics.
The BZK-005 drone is believed to have a satellite datalink antenna inside its nose bulge to help it connect with Beijing’s medium- and high-altitude satellites.