China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, a report published this month by the Arlington, Virginia-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies said.
Satellite imagery of the airfields from the institute’s “China Airpower Tracker” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights China’s strategic use of obsolete but repurposed military hardware to create a cost-effective swarm capability, a tactic that aligns with modern warfare trends seen in Ukraine and other conflicts. The deployment of J-6 drones near Taiwan reflects a calculated effort to exploit asymmetrical advantages, forcing Taiwan to expend expensive missile defenses against relatively low-cost assets. This pattern echoes historical strategies of using numeric...