TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Thursday (Feb. 4), marking the third such incident this month.
One People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Y-8 electronic intelligence aircraft and a Y-8 reconnaissance plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, the Taiwanese military scrambled fighter jets, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the two planes.
Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has been regularly sending planes into Taiwan’s ADIZ, with most sorties occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three PLAAF aircraft. Chinese planes were spotted there on a total of 27 days in January, while last year they were detected 19 times in December, 22 times in November, and 22 times in October, including a drone on Oct. 22.
The Y-8 is a medium-size, medium-range transport aircraft based on the Soviet-era Antonov An-12 and produced by the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation. It can be operated by as few as two or as many as five crew members depending on the variant.
The Y-8 is 34 meters in length with a 38-meter wingspan. It is equipped with four WJ-6 turboprop engines and has a maximum speed of 660 kilometers per hour, with a 10.4-km service ceiling and maximum range of 5,615 km.
Chinese Y-8 REECE (MND photo)
Flight paths of Chinese planes on Feb. 4 (MND image)
