Leaked Pentagon files publicised on April 19 have revealed that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has “almost certainly” operationalised the world’s first hypersonic military aircraft the WZ-8 hypersonic drone. The aircraft have been deployed in western Anhui province under the PLA Eastern Theatre Command positioning them to respond to contingencies in the PLA’s two leading potential hotspots for conflict with the United States. Their location allows them to be deployed by H-6M carrier aircraft – a derivative of the H-6 bomber – for penetration flights into either Taiwanese or South Korea airspace, although it remains uncertain whether they are considered capable of longer range missions for example over the dispute Diaoyu/Senkaku islands or whether this is currently a goal for the Chinese program. The WZ-8 is a totally unique asset worldwide, and supplements the massive and fast growing intelligence gathering capacity of China’s satellite network as well as its numerous and increasingly sophisticated lower end surveillance drones. Hypersonic surveillance aircraft is currently under development in the United States but have yet to be fielded.
Both Taiwanese and South Korean airspace are among the most heavily defended among U.S.-aligned states with dense multi layered surface to air missile networks, which could make the WZ-8 particularly valuable as a means to survey and collect targeting data in the event of conflict. As the world’s first hypersonic military aircraft the drones are expected to be extremely difficult to shoot down. Taiwan and Korea have both been leading potential points of conflict for China and the United States since the early 1950s, with Chinese and U.S. forces clashing over both areas multiple times that decade. The two countries both staged major shows of force on and around the Korean Peninsula in 2017 as Washington strongly considered launching a large scale assault on China’s neighbour and treaty ally North Korea, while Taiwan has emerged as a focal point for tensions today as Washington boosts its military presence there significantly.