On October 19, 1998, four Chinese military radar stations in Hebei province simultaneously tracked an unidentified object hovering above a PLA aviation training base near Changzhou. A Jianjiao-6 interceptor pursued the object for nearly an hour; when the jet closed to 4,000 meters, the craft shot upward at a speed that outpaced the fighter entirely. At least 140 ground observers reported a mushroom-shaped craft with rotating multicolored lights.

The JJ-6 climbed to 12,000 meters before fuel constraints forced the abort. Radar operators noted the object changed altitude thousands of meters in seconds. The Hebei Daily subsequently published a detailed government report on the incident. The PLA granted no further public comment, but South China Morning Post has since reported that Chinese military AI systems were later deployed partly in response to mounting unidentified-air-condition reports.