Chinese military drone flies east of Japan’s Amami Oshima island; TB-001 the first Chinese UAV seen in the area

A Chinese unmanned TB-001 aircraft flew over the sea near Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Tuesday. This was the first time a Chinese military drone had approached the area, the Ministry of Defense announced that day.

The Air Self-Defense Force dispatched fighter jets and monitored the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the Chinese UAV did not invade Japan’s territorial airspace. The TB-001 is designed for reconnaissance and attack.

The TB-001 aircraft was spotted near Japan from morning to afternoon on Tuesday, according to the ministry’s Joint Staff office. It first flew over the sea between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako, both in Okinawa Prefecture, to go from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It then flew into airspace about 200 kilometers east of Amami Oshima Island before making a U-turn and flying back to the East China Sea along almost the same route as the inbound route.