An autonomous military drone in the air
China has converted 1950s Soviet-era fighter J-6 jets into modern day supersonic drones for carrying bombs.
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According to the report on 25 September, the conversion is aimed at increasing the country’s capacity for potential mass drone attacks as tensions over Taiwan rises.
The autonomous drones were displayed at the Changchun Air Show in northeastern China, which ran from Friday through Tuesday this week.
A trip down memory lane
During the Soviet era between 1950 and 1980, China produced thousands of J-6s as replicas of the Soviet MiG-19.
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Although they were powerful aircraft at the time, they now lag behind China’s advanced air fleet in both speed and performance with its top speed of Mach 1.3, a combat range of about 435 miles (700 kilometers), and carrying capacity of roughly 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of ordnance.
The converted aircraft have no trace of crew features such as ejection seats and auxiliary tanks, which have been replaced with an autonomous flight control suite, autopilot, and terrain-matching navigation.
According to displayed information at the show, the aircraft can be used both as a strike platform and a target drone for training.
Powerful war machines
Commentators have spoken on the unmanned aircrafts which they described as more powerful than ballistic missiles. A retired Taiwanese Lt. Gen. Shuai Hua-ming reportedly said:
“I am not afraid of the Dongfeng [ballistic missiles], I am worried about this drone. Hundreds or even thousands of these aircraft could come in a swarm, which would be more terrifying than missiles.”
Another commentator, former PLA instructor and military commentator Song Zhongping said if used on Taiwan, the aircrafts could cause much damage to the island and force it to use expensive interceptors.
All eyes are currently on Taiwan as the supersonic drones were displayed due to the lingering tension between China and the country which claims to be independent from China.
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