“Rumor has it that rumors are nothing but rumors.” I read that line in a children’s joke book back when I was a wee-bitty lad, and as cheesy as that sounds, I think it is applicable to all the wild speculation and RUMINT (RUMor INTelligence, a slang acronym I learned from reading the Rogue Warrior books by U.S Navy SEAL Team 6 founding C.O. Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko) about those drones overflying New Jersey.

Now, in my professional opinion as a former U.S. Air Force officer, I’m pretty sure that these drones have not flown directly from any of America’s adversaries, i.e., China, Russia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Democratic Republic of Korea; unlike, say, that infamous ChiCom spy balloon, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) simply do not have that sort of operational range.

But on the other hand, all four countries certainly do have their fair share of intelligence assets and sympathizers within U.S. borders, so I won’t rule out the possibility that insider threats could either purchase domestically available drones and deploy them or—less likely—find a way to smuggle their mother countries’ UAVs into our country.

Strictly for argument’s sake, let’s propose that the second possibility is correct and that the culprit is indeed China. In that case, the specific threat vector device in question could conceivably be the WZ-7 “Soaring Dragon” UAV.

WZ-7 Initial History and Specifications

Though the maiden flight date of the Guizhou WZ-7 Soaring Dragon (Wu zhen-qi Xiang Lóng) is not known, we do know that it was produced from 2015 to 2016 (with twenty specimens built thus far) and introduced into operational service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in 2018. However, the drone wasn’t officially unveiled to the general public until the 2021 Zhuhai Airshow.

The “Soaring Dragon” is manufactured by Chengdu, the same state-owned enterprise that makes the J-20 Weilong (“Mighty Dragon”; NATO reporting name “Fagin”) fifth-generation stealth fighter. Reportedly twenty WZ-7s have been built thus far. Specifications and vital status include:

• Fuselage Length: 14.33 m (47 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 24.86 m (81 ft 7 in)
• Height: 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in)
• Powerplant: one Guizhou WP-13 turbojet or unknown type of turbofan, 43.1 kN (9,700 lbf) thrust; this engine is mounted in the rear of the airframe, whilst the engine’s air intake is mounted atop the fuselage
• Cruise speed: 750 km/h (466 mph, 405 kn)
• Range: 7,000 km (4,300 mi, 3,800 nmi)
• Combat range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
• Endurance: 10 hours (at maximum speed; with turbojet)
• Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,000 ft)
• Thrust-to-Weight Ratio: 5.8

Other salient features include a pair of canted tails and a tandem, joined-wing design.

The Likely Suspect or an Adequate Alibi?

Now, with those sorts of dimensions, it may seem unlikely that the Soaring Dragon was smuggled into the United States—particularly in multiples—to perform those shenanigans in the skies over “Joizey.”

But then again, never underestimate the diabolical ingenuity of smugglers. Thinking back to my days as a U.S. Customs & Border Protection Officer (CBPO), one of my instructors at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center told us the wild story of how some CBPOs thwarted an attempt to smuggle a Russian-made Mi-24 “Hind” helicopter gunship across the southern border on a freight train! (And then, though not as ambitious or large-scale as attempting to smuggle either a chopper or a drone, there’s also the human car seat incidents.)

Known Operational History and Performance

Known instances of the “Soaring Dragon” harassing and spying upon U.S. assets and/or U.S. allies’ assets in the INDOPACOM region include:

-July 24, 2019, when a WZ-7 shadowed the U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54) as she transited the Taiwan Strait.

-December 15, 2022, when a WZ-7 was deployed near the Indian border in Tibet.

-January 1, 2023, when Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15J Peace Eagles flying over the East China Sea successfully intercepted a WZ-7.

-March 26, 2024, when a WZ-7 overflew the northwestern end of the South China Sea near the Philippines while apparently monitoring the deployment of the U.S. Army’s new Typhon ground-based missile system on the main Philippine island of Luzon.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Shutterstock.