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China may be stripping spy plane, says U.S.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials say there is evidence Chinese authorities may be stripping a sophisticated U.S. spy plane stranded on China's Hainan Island. Pentagon officials on Monday pointed to a new satellite photograph of the U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II plane that shows a line-up of trucks alongside the aircraft. The plane and its crew have been detained since making an emergency landing on Hainan Island following a collision with a Chinese fight jet eight days ago. After the collision the plane limped about 100km to Lingshui military air base, and during the 15-minute flight U.S. officials have said its crew attempted to destroy all classified eavesdropping equipment. Sophisticated eavesdropperOn board the spy plane were sophisticated eavesdropping devices, sensors, receivers and dish antennas to track radar as well as voice and satellite communications. Experts say the plane's most sensitive equipment is software and encryption devices used for unscrambling military codes. An aerial photo, taken by a U.S. commercial satellite company Monday morning China time, shows seven trucks parked next the crippled U.S. EP-3 surveillance plane at Lingshui airstrip, according to Pentagon officials who were shown the photo by CNN. Some in the Pentagon say the photograph backs the U.S. claim that the Chinese are removing sensitive hi-tech equipment from the aircraft. Last week Pentagon sources said that U.S. intelligence reports indicated the Chinese were stripping the plane of equipment, something the Chinese have refused to confirm or deny. The one-meter-resolution, color satellite image was collected at 9:58 a.m. local time on April 9, 2001 (10:58 p.m. EDT on April 8, 2001) by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. RELATED STORIES:
Pentagon official: U.S. plane on autopilot at time of collision RELATED SITES:
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