A CHINESE military drone has been conducting repeated flights over the South China Sea while transmitting false transponder signals to mimic other aircraft, including a sanctioned Belarusian cargo plane and a British Typhoon fighter jet.
Reuters cited analysts saying on Thursday that the operations mark a significant escalation in China’s grey-zone tactics and could be rehearsals for potential action over Taiwan, intended to confuse rival forces and conceal sensitive operations.
Since August 2025, the drone, identified under the call sign YILO4200, has flown at least 23 sorties, often from Hainan province towards the Philippines and along Vietnam’s coastline near the disputed Paracel Islands.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the drone repeatedly broadcasting registration numbers of unrelated aircraft, including Rada Airlines’ Ilyushin-62, Royal Air Force Typhoons, North Korean Il-62s, and Gulfstream jets.
Flights typically remained airborne for hours in star- or hourglass-shaped patterns over sensitive maritime zones, consistent with surveillance missions.
Analysts noted two particularly unusual operations in August and November 2025 in which the drone repeatedly switched transponder codes among multiple aircraft, while the real aircraft remained active elsewhere, highlighting the sophistication of the deception.
Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based security analyst at the Pacific Forum, said the Hainan sorties appeared to be a new element in China’s digital and electronic warfare toolkit.
“They don’t appear to be exercises as much as the kind of action the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has described as rehearsals for a confrontation – anything the Chinese can do to sow confusion in the minds of their rivals is to their advantage,” he said.
Open-source analysts identified the aircraft as a Wing Loong 2, a long-endurance surveillance drone produced by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, capable of carrying out command and control missions, precision strikes, and anti-submarine operations.
The drone operates from Qionghai Boao International Airport, a dual-use commercial and military facility, where satellite imagery shows large UAVs on the tarmac alongside expanded support infrastructure.
Flight patterns overlayed on Taiwan reveal potential rehearsal for operations over key points on the island, including Taipei and southern coastal areas, with eastern trajectories approaching Japanese and U.S. bases in the Ryukyu chain.
“It is a compelling image – extensive rehearsals across the South China Sea to be deployed over Taiwan’s key points,” Neill said.
The Chinese Ministry of Defence, Rada Airlines, and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation declined to comment on the operations, and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. - February 26, 2026
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