TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday released footage showing an Air Force F-16V fighter equipped with a Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod monitoring a Chinese aircraft, along with photos of Navy ships tracking Chinese vessels.

The MND said it detected 22 Chinese military aircraft, including J-10 and J-16 fighter jets and KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft, operating near Taiwan on Tuesday morning. Eleven crossed the Taiwan Strait median line while coordinating with Chinese naval vessels.

The MND released three surveillance images. One captured by a Taiwanese F-16V using the Sniper ATP showed the exhaust nozzles of a Chinese J-16 fighter jet.

Another, taken from the Kee Lung-class destroyer Su Au in waters southwest of Taiwan, showed China’s Type 052D destroyer Yinchuan. A third image, taken aboard the Kang Ding-class frigate Wu Chang, showed a Taiwanese sailor monitoring China’s Type 054A frigate Xuzhou.

Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) and Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), research fellows at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told CNA that the Sniper ATP is a passive detection system that emits no signals. As a result, Chinese pilots may be unaware they are being tracked or targeted.

They said an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile could potentially shoot down a Chinese aircraft before it detected the Taiwanese jet, providing a tactical advantage. However, because the military concealed parameters such as altitude, speed, and enemy bearing, the tracking range and distance could not be determined.