An armed reconnaissance drone attached to a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force unit based in desert region in Northwest China takes off in a training exercise in 2022. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television

The frequent participation of drones in the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) routine exercises around the island of Taiwan highlighted the PLA's high level of unmanned capabilities and combat preparedness, experts said on Friday, after the defense authority of Taiwan recently "spotted," for the first time, yet another type of PLA drone, the GJ-2.

The defense authority on the island said in a press release seen on Wednesday that it detected 29 PLA aircraft and five PLA vessels around the island over the past day, and 16 of the detected aircraft, including fighters, special mission aircraft and drones, crossed the so-called median line of the Taiwan Straits or entered the island's self-proclaimed north and southwest air defense identification zones.

A GJ-2 armed reconnaissance drone was among them, as it flew above waters close to the Taiwan-administered Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea to the southwest of Taiwan island, according to a map showing flight paths of the PLA aircraft released with the press release.

It marked the first time a GJ-2 drone was spotted operating near the island of Taiwan, media on the island said. 

Comparable with the US' MQ-9 Reaper armed reconnaissance drone, the GJ-2 is a customized version of the Wing Loong-2 armed reconnaissance drone of the PLA, and is capable of carrying missiles and flying for extended periods, the media reports said.

Media on the island voiced fear that this type of aircraft could take advantage of its long endurance to conduct round-the-clock, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance over the island of Taiwan, a move that will create heavy burdens for the armed forces on the island, which would need to intercept the drone with costlier aircraft.

Characterized by its long range and endurance that allows it to grasp a battlefield situation in real time for extended periods as well as its capability to destroy targets on the spot, the GJ-2 is a main type of armed reconnaissance drone of the PLA Air Force that can either operate independently or operate together with manned aircraft like the J-16 fighter jet, long-range rocket units of the PLA Army and special forces, according to previous reports by China Central Television.

The PLA is exploring and practicing a wide range of tactics that take advantage of unmanned aircraft, and such tactics will be used in missions to safeguard national unity, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese mainland military aviation expert, told the Global Times on Friday.

Fu said that the GJ-2 has the capability to carry out maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine missions, as it can play the role as a maritime patrol aircraft and summon reinforcements if it finds a valuable target.

The GJ-2 is not the only type of drone that has participated in the PLA's routine exercises and patrols around the island of Taiwan, as the island said it had spotted other PLA drones including the CH-4, the TB-001, the WZ-7, the BZK-005, the BZK-007 and the KVD001, each with own unique capabilities, observers said.