China has for the first time sent a TB001 combat and reconnaissance drone on a solo mission through Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Strait, traveling from the East China Sea into the Pacific near Taiwan, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.
The flight of the drone, which has a maximum range of 6,000 kilometers and can carry missiles and precision guided bombs, occurred Monday from the morning through the afternoon. The Defense Ministry said it scrambled fighter jets to monitor the drone, which did not violate the country’s territorial airspace.
The latest flight comes after the Chinese military flew drones — including a TB001 — in the vicinity of Okinawa Prefecture with other manned aircraft for three straight days last August.