During the recent drills which saw 59 Chinese aircraft surrounding Taiwan, a Wing Loong-2 and a Wing Loong-10 UAVs were explicitly identified and photographed for the first time by the Taiwanese military.
The RoCAF (Republic of China Air Force) has shared for the first time footage of Chinese Wing Loong-2 and Wing Loong-10 (or WZ-10) UAVs through the electro-optical systems onboard their F-16V Viper fighters and PC-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, respectively. The intercept happened as the PRC (People’s Republic of China) conducted massive naval and aerial drills around Taiwan, with Taipei’s MND (Ministry of National Defense) saying it tracked 59 PLA aircraft and nine PLA Navy vessels between Mar. 17 and Mar. 18 .
In the past, Taiwanese reports have identified the BZK-005 ISR drone and TB-001 reconnaissance-strike UAV flying into Taiwan’s ADIZ, while the Wing Loong-2 and Wing Loong-10 (also known as Wuzhen-10 or WZ-10) have not been sighted taking part in these drills.
The RoC’s MND rarely names the types of Chinese military planes it tracks and/or intercepts, identifying them only generically as “aircraft” and “drones.” Thus, while it is possible that the Wing Loong II or the Wing Loong-10 might have been used in the past over Taiwan, this would be the first time they have been both explicitly identified as well as photographed by the Taiwanese military.
Meanwhile, of the 59 aircraft tracked during the drills, 43 crossed the Median Line – a notional border that vertically splits the waters and airspace over the Taiwan Strait – and entered Taiwan’s northern, central and southwestern ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone). Two PRC balloons were also tracked.
Taiwan’s Air Force released images of China’s Wing Loong-10 and Wing Loong II UAVs. pic.twitter.com/KU1xsrND4r
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 18, 2025
It must be noted that Taiwan’s ADIZ is not defined in any international treaty, as it is located mostly over international airspace and usually extends well over the country’s territory to give it more time to respond to hostile aircraft. Hence, an intrusion into an ADIZ is not a violation of sovereign airspace.
On the sea, the RoCN (Republic of China Navy) Zuiyong warship tracked the Type-52D destroyer CNS Guilin, while the ROCS Ban Chao frigate observed the CNS Jingzhou Type-054A frigate. “ROC Armed Forces deployed CAP (Combat Air Patrol) aircraft, Navy ships and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities,” the MND said.
國防部 @MoNDefense 今日表示，至上午6時止，偵獲共機59架次（其中逾越海峽中線進入北部、中部、西南及東部空域43架次）及共艦9艘，持續在臺海周邊活動。國軍運用任務機、艦及岸置飛彈系統嚴密監控與應處。
圖1：F-16V監控中共攻擊2型無人機。
圖2：P-3C監控中共無偵10無人機。… pic.twitter.com/7O6Y1YVGc3
— 軍聞社 Military News Agency, ROC(Taiwan)🇹🇼 (@mna_roc) March 18, 2025
The camera captures of Chinese drones
The image of the Wing Loong-10 captured from the P-3C Orion’s EO (Electro-Optical) system, shows it from a side-rear aspect, with its two exhausts clearly visible. The exhausts do not have protruding nozzles, but are rather concealed in the aircraft body, between the canted vertical stabilizers.
This would identify the drone as the “Wind Shadow” variant of the Wing Loong-10, which features two turbofan engines. On the other hand, the Wing Loong-10’s “Cloud Shadow” variant has a single engine, with a simple nozzle.
The Wing Loong-10 has already flown over the western Pacific before, with the Japan MoD releasing an image in May 2024,howing the drone over the ECS (East China Sea). Even more interestingly, open source aircraft tracking also showed the Wing Loong-10, with the identification number “00CA6181” on Feb. 21, and flying northwards parallel to the Median Line on Mar. 16.
The HALE (High-Altitude Long-Endurance) UCAV, developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, was introduced in 2016 and has been photographed several times on the ground with various air-to-ground munitions and EW/ELINT payloads. In the latest sighting, the Wing Loong-10 is flying in a clean configuration. The drone also has a ventral EO/IR turret, but it can’t be seen in the images and it is unclear whether the turret is retractable.
Saudi Arabia will produce the Wing Loong-10 jet-powered UAV with technology transfer from China. pic.twitter.com/IxXMFSbNU9
— International Defence Analysis (@Defence_IDA) February 11, 2024
The Wing Loong-2 UCAV is also without external payloads, and is captured by the F-16V’s Sniper ATP (Advanced Targeting Pod). Taiwan’s Military News Agency has referred to the Wing Loong-2 as a “Type 2 Attack UAV” and to the Wing Loong-10 as the “Wuzhen-10 UAV”.
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CCTV showed a 🇨🇳Wing Loong-1E UCAV with up to 9 hung munitions in Zhuhai Airshow 2022 pic.twitter.com/NFRBYVStSU
— Jesus Roman (@jesusfroman) November 5, 2022
Interestingly, an RoCAF F-16V also captured a PLA Navy’s J-15 carrier-borne fighter for the first time in mid-Oct. 2024 with its Sniper ATP. This was also at a time when the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command conducted the massive Joint Sword-2024B around the island. The J-15 is a Chinese reverse engineered and heavily modified version of the Russian Su-33 carrier-borne jet.
Tracks and routes flown by Chinese aircraft
Tracks released by the MND showed that, at various points in time between 6:00 AM of Mar. 17 and 6:00 AM of Mar. 18, the Chinese aircraft, part of mixed groups of unspecified fighters, bombers, UAVs and support aircraft, flew parallel to the Median Line, breached it, and then flew three different and separate two-way routes that eventually completely surrounded the island.
These tracks, as the MND map shows, included the aircraft flying from the northwestern to the southern airspace, from the southwestern to southeastern skies, and from northern to western airspace. Interestingly, two balloons also emerged from the Median Line and flew eastwards over northern Taiwanese skies, before disappearing.
59 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 43 out of 59 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. 2 PRC balloons was detected during this timeframe. pic.twitter.com/pMXyPP2xxs
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) March 18, 2025
Conclusion
While Chinese naval and air drills around Taiwan are not uncommon, they generally increase in intensity during periods of diplomatic friction between the mainland and the island, and particularly when Taipei demonstrates enhanced strategic convergence with the U.S. This time, it was following Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s statement calling the PRC a “hostile” foreign entity.
The G7 also recently slammed the PRC for its “illicit, provocative, coercive and dangerous actions” by “building land reclamations and outposts.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded that the drills were “a resolute response to foreign connivance and support for Taiwan independence, and a serious warning to Taiwan separatist forces.”
It is therefore evident that the RoCAF deploys its own jets for such interceptions only during large and heavy PLA activity, but not during its routine maneuvers. However, as analyzed in previous reports by The Aviationist, the consequence of wearing down Taiwanese pilots and logistics, with the ability to fully mobilize and surround the island at will in full force with combined arms drills, is unavoidable.
From a purely military theoretical standpoint, the CMC (Central Military Commission) also proves that it can strategically deter the U.S., its Asian allies and Taiwan without wielding nuclear weapons, with purely conventional military strength. The current drills also come amid the FAS’ (Federation of American Scientists) latest ‘Nuclear Notebook: China’, which says Beijing has roughly 600 nuclear warheads, “only a fraction of the U.S. stockpile of 3,700.”
Of the 600 warheads, FAS’ experts estimate that just 24 are deployed. FAS also adds that, while the “U.S. has a fully-established (nuclear) triad,” China’s submarine-based and bomber legs are “far less capable” than the U.S. ones. The nuclear component has never been an element in the cross-Strait and western Pacific equation with China, but it nevertheless marks how starkly different the situation is compared to the European theater with Russia.
