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.
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27 Articles
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