China is ready to hit Japanese and US targets!

 

The Third World War that started in Ukraine shows signs of spreading elsewhere, for example, in the Pacific between China, Japan, and the USA.

The Asia Times reported that the latest Chinese supersonic drone could herald pre-emptive strikes against the US, Japan, and Taiwan.

 Additionally, these drones could be used to test regional states' defenses against incursions into their airspace. China could also use this new type of drone to attack Taiwanese and US military installations in the Pacific, the Washington Post wrote.

The source cited documents the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency leaked last August showing satellite images of two hypersonic drones carrying WZ-8 missiles at an airport in Liuan, 560 kilometers from Shanghai. 

The drone is an advanced reconnaissance system capable of collecting real-time data to inform strategic command or determine targets for missile strikes in a future conflict.

Documents leaked by the Washington Post also show the possible flight paths of WZ-8 reconnaissance missions.

Although the WZ-8 is unarmed, the Washington Post reports that the drone could be modified for future armed use and is difficult to track and intercept. The report goes on to say that the drone could be launched from a Xian H-6 bomber at an altitude of 30,000 meters and then be able to fly through the airspace of South Korea and Taiwan at three times the speed of sound.

According to the Washington Post, China unveiled the WZ-8 drone in 2019 during celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. However, only some analysts believed the drone was operational at the time. 

The drone will be able to offer capabilities yet to be available to existing Western strategic reconnaissance drones.

As for the other parts of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, according to Kartik Bommakanti's report for the Observer Research Foundation on the introduction of drones and artificial intelligence (AI) into the armed forces, they have grown significantly and are causing concern, if not fear, in the West.

The Asia Times reported last February 2023 on China's triad of supersonic weapons. 

The ship- and aircraft-launched YJ-21 missiles are called "carrier killers," The DF-17 mobile supersonic missile has been upgraded into a formidable conventional deterrence weapon.

@world.war.3.2023