Warplane flying below civilian plane: China's 'Trojan horse' flight detected near Taiwan

Is China planning to attack Taiwan with warplanes masquerading as civilian planes? Recent media reports have triggered concerns in the island that Chinese forces might be practising moving warplanes towards Taiwan under the cover of civilian carriers.

These media reports are based on the images of the unusual flight pattern noticed in Chinese regions facing Taiwan – purportedly screenshots from real-time aircraft tracking map websites FlightAware in the US and the Swedish-based Flightradar 24.

According to observers, it appeared from analysing the tracking map that a Y-9 electronic warfare plane was flying beneath Cathay Pacific flight CX366 from Hong Kong to Shanghai on September 24.

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Reaction from Taiwan

Taiwan’s defence ministry, while reacting to such reports, reiterated that its forces were “closely monitoring the situation with our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems”.

However, it declined to comment on whether China was attempting to fly a ‘Trojan horse.’

About the ‘Trojan horse’ flight

Based on online reports, the Y-9 aircraft briefly tailed Flight CX366 along the M503 route. It then executed a manoeuvre where it descended directly below the civilian aircraft, assuming a vertical position, all of this happening just a few kilometres from the de facto median line in the Taiwan Strait.

Images show the military transport craft disappearing from real-time tracking for approximately 10 minutes. It reappeared after the passenger plane altered its course northward toward Shanghai Pudong Airport.

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Retired Taiwanese Air Force Lieutenant General Chang Yen-ting characterised this manoeuvre as akin to a "Trojan horse," an action that would essentially result in just a solitary, faint blip on radar screens.

Are ‘Trojan horse’ flights detectable?

South China Morning Post quoted Chang as saying that such ‘Trojan horse’ flights are very much detectable and using them to carry out an attack is not easy.

“Basically, a passenger aeroplane is equipped with a traffic collision avoidance system designed to warn the pilot of the presence of another plane about 1,000 metres (3,280 miles) nearby. The system will flash warnings if another plane is flying below vertically,” he said.

About M503 route

The M503 route travels from south to north and comes as close as 7.8 kilometres (4.8 miles) to the median line at its nearest point.

It's worth noting that Beijing initiated this route in 2018 with the approval of the International Civil Aviation Organization, despite Taipei's repeated objections due to its proximity to the flight information region of the island.

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