BZK005 crossed the Miyako Strait, No Detective 7 was photographed

BZK005 crossed the Miyako Strait, and Undetected 7 was photographed

Throughout 2022, there will be a lot of news about China in the waters surrounding Japan. In addition to the fleet directly crossing the Tsugaru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu Island, the drones in the sky did not stop. In 2022, many reports from Japan about Chinese drones were heard.

UAVs over Japan

The two that have attracted more attention are the BZK-005 and the Wuzhen-7.

BZK-005 is a medium-to-high-altitude UAV with certain stealth capabilities. This UAV has been in service for several years. It was first discovered by some Western satellites operating over Beijing in 2013. Since 2016, this drone has been operating frequently at sea. In 2018, Japan photographed a drone suspected of being BZK-005 for the first time.

In mid-December 2022, Japan observed a BZK-005 UAV passing through the Miyako Strait with great fanfare. This was the third time in 2022 that Japan observed the arrival of this type of UAV. Over the Miyako Strait. The BZK-005 drone has become a "frequent visitor" to Japan, to the point where Japan is no longer surprised to see this aircraft.

Wuzhen-7 attracted considerable attention at the end of 2022, because Japan took very clear photos of Wuzhen-7 at that time, and the "Queen Photographer" once again made a contribution.

The Wujian-7 was flying at an elevation angle, and with the thick smoke at its tail, it was probably in a state of "rapid acceleration." This is also the first time that Japan has released such clear photos of its own No-detection-7, which once attracted international attention.

Compared with China’s high-intensity drone reconnaissance, Japan seems to be in a hurry. In the month of December 2022, Japan had 52 fighter jets take off in response to the People's Liberation Army's military aircraft and drones, with an average of 2 aircraft taking off every day. This intensity is very high.

And as time goes by, China’s drones are flying more and more high. Like the Wuzhen-7, the maximum flight altitude reaches 20,000 meters. The maximum flight altitude of the F-15 equipped by Japan is only 18,000 meters. Therefore, if the People's Liberation Army needs it, it can completely overwhelm Japan's F-15 and let it fly. Looking up to No Detective-7.

Three major changes

China’s high-intensity drone reconnaissance over Japan has brought about three very significant changes. First, the intensity of training of the People's Liberation Army has increased, and the use of drones has become more and more frequent. The second is the normalization of reconnaissance over Japan, and the third is the loss of Japanese military aircraft.

Whether it is an army equipped with outdated weapons or an army equipped with high-tech weapons, training is very important. Although high-tech weapons are advanced, if a soldier doesn't know how to use them, he might as well just hold a fire stick. Saudi Arabia, which spends a lot of money to buy high-tech weapons, only to be beaten up by the Houthis is a typical example.

China's "high-tech weapons" broke out after 2010. In the 10 years from 2010 to 2020, China included advanced weapons such as the J-20, Yun-20, 2 aircraft carriers, and 055 large-scale drive A wholehearted service.

After the People's Liberation Army obtained these weapons, it only took a few years to train. Therefore, the People's Liberation Army has little background in the use of high-tech weapons, and it is not like the U.S. military in this regard.

The high-intensity reconnaissance of Chinese drones over Japan shows that China’s use and training of drones at least is very close to actual combat. Such high-intensity training makes the soldiers more and more familiar with the use of relevant weapons, and they will naturally become more effective if they really want to fight.

In addition, the normalization of the presence of Chinese drones over Japan is also an important step in the expansion of China's military influence. China is relatively passive in Northeast Asia, and there has even been South Korea planning to deploy THAAD. The situation in Northeast Asia has reversed, and it is China's turn to export its military influence in Northeast Asia.

The attrition of Japanese military aircraft. Japan takes off so many military aircraft every month. It is not difficult to see the attrition of Japanese military aircraft. Compared with Japan's manned fighter aircraft, the price of UAVs is much lower. Japan can drive away Chinese UAVs at a cost hundreds of times higher than China's reconnaissance costs.

The F-15 models equipped by Japan are relatively old, and there are relatively few new F-35 fighters. Japan’s total equipment is only 20 to 30 aircraft. If things go on like this, it will be a huge loss to Japan's air power. And if Japan dispatches F-35, China will be very happy to have the opportunity to get up close to the F-35 and get its stealth features. Japan still only dares to use older fighter planes to intercept Chinese drones.

Why is the skies over Japan so lively?

The battle of wits and courage between China and Japan in the sky is largely affected by the improvement of their own military strength and the impact of the international environment. Before 2016 to 2017, the People's Liberation Army's naval and air forces took more actions in the South China Sea. Later, around 2020, China took more actions in Northeast Asia.

The most fundamental reason for this is the improvement of China’s naval power.

The countries around Nanyang dare to take advantage of China's lack of naval strength to confront China. China's coast guard strength alone has surpassed the countries surrounding Nanyang, and then this kind of scene occurred. After China's naval strength increased, the surrounding areas of the South China Sea became much more stable. Relations between China and the ten ASEAN countries have warmed, and trade volume has also increased rapidly.

In contrast, Japan continues to confront China, and its investment in confronting China is increasing. The reason behind this is that Japan has no sovereignty. The United States wants to contain China's military power, and it is a lower-cost method for Japan to jump around in front of the stage. So the skies over Northeast Asia started to get lively around 2020, and it will be especially lively in 2022.

The most critical thing is that in 2022, Japan took advantage of the major changes in the international environment to loosen its military power and once again violated the relevant agreements signed during World War II to enhance its military power.

The United States wants to build Japan into a bridgehead against China and is constantly loosening treaties that restrict Japan's military power. It is not surprising that China uses various military means against this bridgehead.