a Chinese drone capable of carrying heavy weapons This week it flew over the vicinity of Taiwan in a new show of force by Beijing on the authorities of the island, which it considers a “rogue province”.
It was one of 38 drones of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or penetrated the Air Defense Identification Zone in just 24 hours, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense.
This is the TB-001 drone, known in the Chinese official press as “the two-tailed scorpion” by the way it covers the missiles under its wings. It’s one of the most powerful drones in your arsenal.
The unmanned combat aircraft, identified last Thursday by the Taiwanese authorities, would have crossed the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines, and then ascended through the eastern part of the island, before returning to Chinese territory.
Chinese drones have not flown over Taiwan’s airspace, then there were no major reprisals as well as starting the development of its aircraft, ships, and anti-missile systems to counter the operation in Beijing, aimed at intimidating the authorities.
It is common for Chinese warplanes to cross the unofficial watershed raising alarm bells in Taipei. Once there, however, the path of the ordnance has no defined pattern, in what is believed to be reconnaissance activities.
The Chinese air force has carried out a series of missions in recent months that it calls “island encirclement”. They have come to use the Xian H-6, a nuclear-capable bomber.
On this occasion, the People’s Liberation Army released the “two-tailed scorpion”. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He has already used them in the latest military maneuvers on the island after the meeting in Los Angeles between the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen and the president of Congress, the Republican Kevin McCarthy.
The Tengden TB-001 is one of the devices that best reflects the advances in military technology in Beijing. Manufactured by a Chinese contractor Sichuan Tengden Science and Technology, the aircraft has a flight range of 6,000 kilometers and can remain airborne for approximately 35 hours, with a maximum payload of 1,200 kg and surveillance sensors. It can carry bombs, air-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, and surface-to-air missiles.
He didn’t fly alone. In the last operation in Beijing, TB-001 was accompanied by fighters and reconnaissance aircraft. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it also detected six People’s Liberation Army vessels but did not specify their location.
