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US satellites make another sighting of China’s WZ-8 supersonic drone
- US-based Defence News releases image of UAV parked at Luan airbase in eastern China
- The drone’s stealth and supersonic capabilities make it a natural target of American interest, analyst says
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Amber Wangin Beijing
China’s WZ-8 supersonic drone has resurfaced in American satellite imagery, with a US-based defence website releasing a new photo of one of the unmanned aerial vehicles parked at an upgraded military base in eastern China.
The satellite image shows what appears to be a WZ-8 reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at the Luan airbase in Anhui province, according to Defence News.
The image was provided by Planet Labs, an American public Earth-imaging company, and was dated December 21.
Last month, an image dated August 9 from a trove of leaked classified US military documents showed two WZ-8s parked at the same airbase.
The document was reported by The Washington Post in April and initially posted on group chat service Discord, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
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According to the document, the WZ-8 could fly at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, at an altitude of 100,000 feet (30km).
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