China’s Missile Volley Sparked by Cold-War-Throwback Spy Plane
- U-2 flight prompted China to fire four anti-ship missiles
- Cold War spy plane has role drones, satellites don’t match
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At the center of the latest U.S.-China military tensions in the South China Sea was a reconnaissance jet better known for its key role in the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union.
The U-2 spy plane flew from South Korea to monitor Chinese military exercises near the Paracel Islands, prompting the People’s Liberation Army to fire four medium-range ballistic missiles into the disputed body of water. The missiles landed harmlessly in the sea.