Washington Post, quoting a leaked US assessment, reported late on Tuesday that China is planning to deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound. The publication cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
The document reportedly shows satellite imagery dated August 9 where WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones can be seen at an air base in eastern China. The newspaper reported that the assessment said China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “almost certainly” established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base.
The base falls under the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military, a branch which is responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
The Washington Post reportedly secured the assessment from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app. These files were allegedly posted by the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was arrested last week for leaking Pentagon documents.
Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard, was arrested last week by the FBI for leaking the highly secretive documents. Washington termed the leak a threat to national security and had been working to find out who had leaked the papers.
The leak of highly classified papers was an embarrassment for the US as it showed its allies that it had been spying on them. The papers carried information about the Ukraine war, China, and other countries. The papers carried a highly classified conversation held between high-level South Korean officials on whether to send weapons to Ukraine.
Jack Teixeira has been charged with the “unauthorised retention and transmission” of a trove of classified United States government documents on Friday (April 14) during a short hearing. Teixeira was in charge of a group of about 20 to 30 young men who participated in a chat group.
Jack Teixeira allegedly leaked the documents in a chatroom for gamers, Thug Shaker Central, on Discord, an instant messaging platform. Washington Post had earlier reported that the man who leaked these documents was known as OG in the group. Teixeira’s “online gaming profile” and family photos posted to social media acted as evidence in the case. He reportedly used to work during the overnight shifts on Cape Cod.
Jack Teixeira said in the chat group that he was able to access the documents because he worked on a “military base”, the name of which wasn’t revealed earlier.
(With inputs from agencies)
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