MQ-4C Triton drones. (
northropgrumman.com image)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Aircraft spotters reported two high-altitude U.S. military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) flying towards the south of Taiwan on Wednesday (July 15), with one website appearing to indicate that the aircraft flew over China as well.
On Wednesday afternoon at 1:32 p.m., aircraft spotter Golf9 detected an unidentified aircraft with the hex code AE64C6 flying just off the west coast of the northern Philippines. Golf9 suggested that the aircraft was a U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton, a high-altitude surveillance aircraft.
First sighting of AE64C6 off of the Philippines. (Twitter, Golf9 screenshot)
At 2:14 p.m., Golf9 posted a screenshot from ADS-B Exchange appearing to show the aircraft over China's Fujian Province and heading due north. He then questioned the accuracy of the route by saying "The display of the ADS-B Exchange may be incorrect."
Second sighting of AE64C6. (Twitter, Golf9 screenshot)