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China Deploys Over 200 Drone Fighters Near Taiwan
The People's Liberation Army aims to overwhelm Taiwan and allied defenses with over 200 modified J-6 fighter jets converted to attack drones, part of a broader drone warfare strategy.
China has stationed over 500 converted fighter jet drones at airbases near the Taiwan Strait, according to a report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
The People's Liberation Army converted obsolete J-6 fighters—Soviet-derived jets from the 1960s—into autonomous attack drones designated J-6W to expand its airpower arsenal.
J. Michael Dahm, senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, estimates these drones aim to "exhaust Taiwan's air defense systems" in the first wave of an attack.
Taiwan's defense ministry outlined plans this week to rapidly acquire a new generation of counterdrone systems to protect against this asymmetric threat.
Although the U.S. intelligence community retracted its 2027 invasion forecast last week, Beijing continues to assert sovereignty over Taiwan, maintaining pressure through these strategic deployments.