The Chinese military may soon use a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, according to a leaked U.S. military assessment, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday.
The newspaper cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
According to the newspaper, the document contains satellite imagery dated August 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles (560 kilometres) inland from Shanghai.
PLA has 'almost certainly' established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit
According to the US assessment, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had "almost certainly" established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which is part of the Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command, which is in charge of enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, according to the newspaper.
According to the Washington Post, the assessment of the programme was obtained from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was arrested last week.
FBI arrests Jack Douglas Teixeira
The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the United States Air National Guard, on Thursday in connection with classified document leaks that embarrassed Washington and its allies around the world.
