TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Aircraft spotters detected a U.S. Navy surveillance drone flying just off the coast of southern Taiwan Wednesday (Dec. 9), well within the country's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
At 3:28 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the Beijing-based South China Sea (SCS) Probing Initiative posted a tweet claiming that a U.S. Navy Northrup Grumman MQ-4C Triton was operating over the South China sea that day. Aircraft spotter Jort Enthusiast at 3:30 p.m. announced on Twitter that a USN MQ-4C with the Mode-S hex code AE5C76 was flying just south of Taiwan and "high above the South China Sea."
Three minutes later, Twitter user Ketagalan wrote that the aircraft had passed through the Bashi Channel. At 3:35 p.m., aircraft spotter Tokyo Radar wrote that a U.S. Navy unmanned aerial vehicle was located to the south of Taiwan at an altitude of 46,000 feet at 4:24 p.m. Japan Time, or 3:24 p.m. in Taiwan.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense has yet to issue any comment on the drone's alleged flight.
USN MQ-4C (#AE5C76) is operating over the #SouthChinaSea, Dec 9. pic.twitter.com/6xPMdpQORP
— SCS Probing Initiative (@SCS_PI) December 9, 2020
USN MQ-4C #AE5C76 south of Taiwan, high above the South China Sea pic.twitter.com/bhTaHnONeA
— Jort Enthusiast (@BobRenob) December 9, 2020
#AE5C76 #168462 USN MQ-4C 正通過巴士海峽 pic.twitter.com/14eCDD3kXX
— Ketagalan (@CCCDSLR) December 9, 2020
Japan time December 9, 2020 16:24
U.S. Navy UAV south of Taiwan(AE5C76)
MQ-4C Triton?
Altitude:46,000 ft
Speed:?km/h pic.twitter.com/kaZwY3D2oi
— Tokyo Radar
