By Mike Yeo

May 19, 12:21 AM

作者：迈克•杨

5月19日上午12:21

 

This satellite image is from Planet Labs. Defense News annotated the image. (Planet Labs)

这张卫星图像来自行星实验室。国防新闻频道对该图像进行了注释。（行星实验室）

 

MELBOURNE, Australia — A satellite image obtained by Defense News shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase.

澳大利亚墨尔本——《防务新闻》获得的一张卫星图像显示，一架无侦-8型超音速侦察无人机停在中国六安空军基地两个新建机库其中一处之外。

 

China is continuing to revamp a bomber base that was identified in recently leaked U.S documents as hosting a new supersonic reconnaissance drone.

中国正在继续改造一个轰炸机基地，在最近泄露的美国文件中，该基地被认定为一种新型超音速侦察无人机的基地。

 

The satellite image, provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, shows Lu’an Airbase in China’s Anhui province. The previously unoccupied base is undergoing an upgrade, with construction beginning sometime between April 2018 and early 2019. Improvements include the resurfacing of the 3,200-meter (3,500-yard) runway, the widening of taxiways, and the construction of 20 bomber-sized aircraft shelters and two hangars to replace open aircraft parking bays.

星球实验室向《防务新闻》提供的卫星图像显示，六安空军基地位于中国安徽省。之前无人居住的基地正在进行升级，施工将于2018年4月至2019年初开始。改进措施包括重新铺设3200米（3500码）的跑道，拓宽滑行跑道，建造20个轰炸机大小的飞机棚和两个机库，以取代开放的飞机停机位。

 

China also built munitions checkout facilities on base, according to Decker Eveleth, a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey who reviewed the satellite photo given to Defense News. Eveleth explained that such checkout facilities are used to inspect munitions before they’re loaded onto aircraft for use.

蒙特雷米德尔伯里国际研究所的学生德克尔·伊夫莱斯查看了发给《防务新闻》的卫星照片，他说，中国还在基地建造了弹药检查设施。伊夫莱斯解释说，这种检查设施用于在弹药被装载到飞机上使用之前对其进行检查。

 

These buildings are usually found at bases for bombers and ground-launched missiles, Eveleth added, and tend to be “long, tall buildings with doors at both ends,” with missiles usually fixed to a rail for inspection at various stations for examining various components.

伊夫莱斯补充道，这些建筑通常位于轰炸机和地面发射导弹的基地，往往是“两端都有门的又长又高的建筑”，导弹通常固定在轨道上，在各个站点进行检查，以检查各种部件。

 

Lu’an Airbase is home to the 29th Air Regiment of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division, according to Andreas Rupprecht, who has authored several books on Chinese military aviation and the industry.

据安德烈亚斯•鲁普雷希特介绍，六安空军基地是中国人民解放军空军第10轰炸机师第29航空团的驻地，他著有几本关于中国军用航空和工业的书。

 

WZ-8 drones are seen on vehicles. (Chinese Defense Ministry)

在车辆上可以看到无侦-8型无人机。（中国国防部）

 

He told Defense News that the unit currently flies the Xi’an H-6K and H-6M bombers. The latter is the primary launch platform of the WZ-8, carrying the supersonic drone on an hardpoint on its fuselage underside and releasing it from a high altitude.

他告诉《国防新闻》，该部队目前正在驾驶西安轰-6K和轰-6M轰炸机。后者是无侦-8型的主要发射平台，将超音速无人机搭载在机身下侧的硬挂点上，并将其从高空释放。

 

The WZ-8 was also seen on a satellite photo taken in December 2022, while another from early April 2023 showed continued progress in widening the aircraft taxiways leading to the base’s underground aircraft facilities south of the runway.

无侦-8型也出现在2022年12月拍摄的一张卫星照片上，而2023年4月初的另一张照片显示，在拓宽通往跑道以南基地地下飞机设施的飞机滑行道方面继续取得进展。

 

Using Google Earth’s measuring tool, Defense News assesses that the new taxiways are approximately 25 meters (82 feet) wide, compared to 14 meters (46 feet) previously. However, the underground facilities, which run underneath nearby hills, have yet to be widened.

《防务新闻》使用谷歌地球的测量工具评估称，新的滑行道宽约25米（82英尺），而之前为14米（46英尺）。然而，位于附近山丘下方的地下设施尚未拓宽。

 

The presence of WZ-8s at the base was noted in a document ostensibly from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and leaked online through the social media platform Discord. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is accused of leaking the highly classified information.

美国国家地理空间情报局的一份文件表面上提到了无侦-8型的存在，并通过社交媒体平台Discord泄露到网上。马萨诸塞州空军国民警卫队的一名成员被控泄露了这些高度机密的信息。

 

A military vehicle carries a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone during a parade in Beijing, China, on Oct. 1, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

2019年10月1日，在中国北京举行的阅兵式上，一辆军用车辆载着一架无侦-8型超音速侦察无人机。（格雷格·贝克/法新社通过盖蒂图片社）

 

Defense News has been unable to verify the veracity of the document. Aric Toler, a researcher with investigative journalism group Bellingcat who has written extensively on the Discord leaks, told Defense News he had not seen the document before.

《国防新闻报》一直无法核实该文件的真实性。阿里克·托勒是一名新闻调查组织啤令猫（Bellingcat）的研究员，他写了大量关于Discord泄密的文章，他告诉国防新闻，他以前从未见过这份文件。

 

The published document showed two WZ-8s at the base, which it called “Liuan,” and claimed the imagery was taken during a reconnaissance satellite pass on Aug. 9, 2022.

公布的文件显示，该基地有两架无侦-8型，被称为“六安”，并声称这些图像是在2022年8月9日侦察卫星经过时拍摄的。

 

One of the drones was outside the same hangar as that seen on the satellite photo provided to Defense News, while the other was being towed along the runway.

在提供给《国防新闻》的卫星照片上看到同一机库外其中一架无人机，而另一架则被沿着跑道拖曳。

 

The document also outlined possible mission flight profiles of the WZ-8, suggesting that it could perform reconnaissance missions over South Korea and Taiwan with a daylight sensor suite including a synthetic aperture radar and electro-optical sensor while flying at Mach 3 at an altitude of 100,000 feet.

文件还概述了无侦-8型可能的任务飞行概况，表明它可以在韩国和台湾岛上空执行侦察任务，配备昼间传感器套件，包括合成孔径雷达和光电传感器，在10万英尺高度以3马赫飞行。

 

It also suggests the drones could recover at China’s coastal airfields following the completion of their missions, landing at bases such as Dashuibo in Wendeng on the Shandong Peninsula or Huian, which is west of Taiwan.

它还表明，无人机可以在任务完成后在中国沿海机场恢复，降落在山东半岛文登的大水泊或台湾岛以西的惠安等基地。

 

About Mike Yeo

Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.

关于迈克•杨

迈克•杨是《防务新闻》的亚洲记者。