TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Multiple aircraft spotters on Wednesday (Jan. 13) detected a U.S. Navy surveillance drone flying just off the coast of southwestern Taiwan, well within the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and possibly over the city of Kaohsiung.
At 12:12 a.m. on Wednesday, aircraft spotter CANUK78 reported that a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton headed toward the South China Sea. The map included in the tweet showed the aircraft flying through the Bashi Channel off the southeast coast of Taiwan.
The Facebook page of Taiwanese aircraft spotter Southwest Airspace of TW (台灣西南空域) at 12:52 a.m. stated that the Northrup Grumman unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the Mode-S hex code AE5C74 had passed through the Bashi Channel. The flight took place several hours after three PLA Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft had intruded into the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ.