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How China is masking drone flights in potential Taiwan rehearsal
At least 23 flights by a Chinese Wing Loong 2 drone used electronic warfare to mimic other aircraft, enhancing surveillance and rehearsing operations near Taiwan, analysts said.
- On Feb 26, 2026, Reuters reported a Chinese military drone conducted flights over the South China Sea while transmitting false transponder signals making it appear as other aircraft, including a Belarusian cargo plane and a British Typhoon.
- Analysts and diplomats say three regional diplomats, four open-source analysts and three security scholars link the flights through waters south of Hainan and the Bashi Channel to Communist Party demands to sharpen readiness and rehearse operations over Taiwan.
- Open-Source analysts found the aircraft spoofed 24-bit registration addresses via transponder recoding and identified the YILO4200 call sign as a Wing Loong 2 long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation with a 20.5 metres wingspan.
- Analysts warned envoys and intelligence analysts said the masking could sow confusion and affect milliseconds along the kill chain, while China’s defence ministry, Rada Airlines, Britain’s defence ministry and the Pentagon did not comment and ICAO declined to respond.
- Since August, 23 flights under YILO4200 were logged, satellite images from July, September and January show large drones at Qionghai Boao International Airport, and control methods remain unclear.
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4 Articles
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How China is masking drone flights in potential Taiwan rehearsal
A large Chinese military drone has conducted regular flights over the South China Sea in recent months while transmitting false transponder signals that made it appear to be other aircraft, including a sanctioned Belarusian cargo plane and a British Typhoon fighter jet.
·United Kingdom
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"I've Never Seen It" How "Mass" China's Drone Flights in a Potential Preparation Exercise for Taiwan
A large-scale Chinese military drone carried out regulated flights over the South China Sea in the last few months, transmitting false transponder signals that made it look like another aircraft, including a finely finer aircraft and...
·Romania
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