Satellite image shows WZ-8 supersonic drone at Chinese base

This satellite image is from Planet Labs. Defense News annotated the image. (Planet Labs)

MELBOURNE, Australia — A satellite image obtained by Defense News shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase.

China is continuing to revamp a bomber base that was identified in recently leaked U.S documents as hosting a new supersonic reconnaissance drone.

The satellite image, provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, shows Lu’an Airbase in China’s Anhui province. The previously unoccupied base is undergoing an upgrade, with construction beginning sometime between April 2018 and early 2019. Improvements include the resurfacing of the 3,200-meter (3,500-yard) runway, the widening of taxiways, and the construction of 20 bomber-sized aircraft shelters and two hangars to replace open aircraft parking bays.

China also built munitions checkout facilities on base, according to Decker Eveleth , a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey who reviewed the satellite photo given to Defense News. Eveleth explained that such checkout facilities are used to inspect munitions before they’re loaded onto aircraft for use.

These buildings are usually found at bases for bombers and ground-launched missiles, Eveleth added, and tend to be “long, tall buildings with doors at both ends,” with missiles usually fixed to a rail for inspection at various stations for examining various components.

Lu’an Airbase is home to the 29th Air Regiment of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division, according to Andreas Rupprecht, who has authored several books on Chinese military aviation and the industry.

WZ-8 drones are seen on vehicles. (Chinese Defense Ministry)

He told Defense News that the unit currently flies the Xi’an H-6K and H-6M bombers. The latter is the primary launch platform of the WZ-8, carrying the supersonic drone on an hardpoint on its fuselage underside and releasing it from a high altitude.

The WZ-8 was also seen on a satellite photo taken in December 2022, while another from early April 2023 showed continued progress in widening the aircraft taxiways leading to the base’s underground aircraft facilities south of the runway.

Using Google Earth’s measuring tool, Defense News assesses that the new taxiways are approximately 25 meters (82 feet) wide, compared to 14 meters (46 feet) previously. However, the underground facilities, which run underneath nearby hills, have yet to be widened.

The presence of WZ-8s at the base was noted in a document ostensibly from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and leaked online through the social media platform Discord. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is accused of leaking the highly classified information.

A military vehicle carries a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone during a parade in Beijing, China, on Oct. 1, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Defense News has been unable to verify the veracity of the document. Aric Toler, a researcher with investigative journalism group Bellingcat who has written extensively on the Discord leaks, told Defense News he had not seen the document before.

The published document showed two WZ-8s at the base, which it called “Liuan,” and claimed the imagery was taken during a reconnaissance satellite pass on Aug. 9, 2022.

One of the drones was outside the same hangar as that seen on the satellite photo provided to Defense News, while the other was being towed along the runway.

The document also outlined possible mission flight profiles of the WZ-8, suggesting that it could perform reconnaissance missions over South Korea and Taiwan with a daylight sensor suite including a synthetic aperture radar and electro-optical sensor while flying at Mach 3 at an altitude of 100,000 feet.

It also suggests the drones could recover at China’s coastal airfields following the completion of their missions, landing at bases such as Dashuibo in Wendeng on the Shandong Peninsula or Huian, which is west of Taiwan .

Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.

这张卫星图像来自Planet Labs公司。Defense News网站对图像进行了标注。（Planet Labs）

澳大利亚墨尔本——《防务新闻》获得的一张卫星图像显示，一架疑似 WZ-8 超音速侦察无人机停放在中国六安空军基地新建的两座机库之一外。

中国正在继续改造一个轰炸机基地，该基地在最近泄露的美国文件中被确认为部署了一种新型超音速侦察无人机。

这张由Planet Labs提供给Defense News的卫星图像显示了位于中国安徽省的六安空军基地。这座此前未使用的基地正在进行升级改造，工程于2018年4月至2019年初之间启动。改造内容包括重铺3200米（3500码）长的跑道、拓宽滑行道，以及建造20个轰炸机大小的飞机掩体和两个机库，以取代原有的露天停机坪。

据《防务新闻》获得的卫星照片显示，中国还在基地内建造了弹药检查设施。蒙特雷米德尔伯里国际研究学院的学生德克尔·伊夫莱斯（Decker Eveleth）表示，此类检查设施用于在弹药装载到飞机上之前对其进行检查。

伊夫利斯补充说，这些建筑物通常位于轰炸机和陆基导弹基地，而且往往是“两端都有门的又长又高的建筑物”，导弹通常固定在轨道上，以便在各个站点进行检查，检查各种部件。

据撰写过多本关于中国军事航空和相关产业书籍的安德烈亚斯·鲁普雷希特 (Andreas Rupprecht) 称，六安空军基地是中国人民解放军空军第10轰炸师第29航空团的驻地。

图为搭载在车辆上的WZ-8无人机。（中国国防部）

他告诉《防务新闻》，该部队目前装备的是西安H-6K和H-6M轰炸机。其中，H-6M是WZ-8的主要发射平台，超音速无人机挂载在机身下方的挂点上，并从高空释放。

在 2022 年 12 月拍摄的一张卫星照片中也看到了 WZ-8，而 2023 年 4 月初的另一张照片显示，通往跑道南侧基地地下飞机设施的飞机滑行道拓宽工程持续取得进展。

《防务新闻》利用谷歌地球的测量工具评估，新建的滑行道宽度约为25米（82英尺），而之前的滑行道宽度为14米（46英尺）。然而，位于附近山丘下方的地下设施尚未拓宽。

一份据称来自美国国家地理空间情报局的文件记录了该基地部署WZ-8无人机的情况，该文件随后通过社交媒体平台Discord泄露到网上。一名马萨诸塞州空军国民警卫队成员被指控泄露了这一高度机密信息。

2019年10月1日，在中国北京举行的阅兵式上，一辆军车运载着一架WZ-8超音速侦察无人机。（Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images）

《防务新闻》目前无法核实该文件的真实性。曾就Discord泄密事件撰写大量报道的调查新闻机构Bellingcat的研究员阿里克·托勒告诉《防务新闻》，他此前从未见过这份文件。

已公布的文件显示，该基地有两架 WZ-8 无人机，并称之为“刘安”，声称这些图像是在 2022 年 8 月 9 日侦察卫星过境期间拍摄的。

其中一架无人机位于与提供给《防务新闻》的卫星照片中看到的机库相同的机库外，而另一架无人机则被沿着跑道拖行。

该文件还概述了 WZ-8 可能的任务飞行剖面，表明它可以携带包括合成孔径雷达和光电传感器在内的日光传感器套件，以 3 马赫的速度在 100,000 英尺的高度飞行，对韩国和台湾执行侦察任务。

这也表明，无人机在完成任务后可能会在中国沿海机场回收，降落在诸如山东半岛文登的大水波或台湾西部的惠安等基地。

Mike Yeo 是《防务新闻》的亚洲通讯员。