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Japan reports first sighting of new PLA combat drone over East China Sea
- Japanese Ministry of Defence says it monitored the WZ-10 UAV flying near Okinawa within air defence zone
- The news comes on the same day Tokyo says Chinese ships have sailed near disputed Diaoyu Islands for a record 158 consecutive days
Japan’s Ministry of Defence said on Monday that it had, for the first time, monitored a WZ-10 military drone from the Wing Loong-10 family over the East China Sea, north of Japan’s far southwestern prefecture of Okinawa.
The WZ-10 was reportedly flying eastwards from China, taking a northeasterly course before returning along the same route.
In a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, Japan’s Joint Staff Office, which oversees the country’s maritime, ground and air self-defence forces, said fighter jets were sent from the Southwestern Air Command Support Flight – a unit of the air force based at the Naha Air Base in Okinawa.
“This was the first time that this aircraft was spotted in an airspace violation response by the Japanese Navy,” the post read, without naming the aircraft sent to monitor the drone.
The WZ-10 is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for reconnaissance and precision strike missions. It entered service in November 2022.
The high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft can operate at altitudes of up to 15,000 metres (49,000 feet) with an endurance of 20 hours at a speed of 620km/h (385mph).
It is said to have a wingspan of around 20 metres, a length of about 9 metres, and a height of close to 4 metres (13 feet), according to the China Defence website.
![Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left), South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (centre) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang attend a joint press conference following talks in Seoul on Monday. Photo: Kyodo](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/28/34f40a67-d6d5-4885-9bdd-08784c49d632_315ea1ba.jpg)
Tokyo’s report came shortly after a top Japanese government spokesman said that Chinese ships sailed near disputed islands in the East China Sea for a record 158 consecutive days – surpassing the previous record of 157 days in 2021.
Beijing hit out at Tokyo over the past week after it congratulated Lai on taking office.
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