China Turns Its Fighters Into UAVs; Could Swarm Taiwan From Five ‘Hardened’ Forward Airfields – Reports

The EurAsian Times ^ | November 22, 2022 | Parth Satam

[TigerLikesRoosterNew]

China Turns Its Fighters Into UAVs; Could Swarm Taiwan From Five ‘Hardened’ Forward Airfields – Reports

EXPERT REVIEWS

By Parth Satam

November 22, 2022

A report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies (MIAS) identifies five forward airfields China could use to launch Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) swarms against Taiwan.

Legacy aircraft converted into drones (J-6, J-7, J-8) have been concluded to be pressed in as a part of the initial wave of attacks to soften Taiwanese air defenses.



These highly developed and defended airfields with hardened airfields can then be taken over by People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Su-30MKK, J-16, or J-10 fighters for sustained operations against Taiwan.

The distinction of this airfield is the total of 126 concealed, buried, camouflaged, and hardened shelters to station both UAVs and regular combat aircraft.

While the report calls for suppressing these airfields early in a Chinese military intervention in Taiwan, it notes that the United States Air Force (USAF) lacks the range, technological and logistical capability to do so.

The study by Daniel Rice, a non-resident fellow at MIAS, goes on to study each airfield’s satellite photo by zooming in on structures and facilities like surface-to-air (SAM) defenses existing and under-construction shelters, hangars, ammunition storages, and types of aircraft parked to draw its inferences.

[Brian Griffin]

The US isn’t going to defend Taiwan.

The US will happily sell non-nuclear weapons to Taiwan for its defense.

Taiwan needs to develop nuclear weapons to hold the Red Tiger at bay.

[smokingfrog]

It will be a modern day Battle of Britain type scenario.

[allendale]

UAVs must be quipped with software to direct the aircraft to target. Suspect that there are nerds on Taiwan who just might know how to hack those guidance systems and redirect the aircraft.

[datura]

The PLA will be outing north from Harbin long before it tries for Taiwan.

Look!!! A squirrel!!!

[Spktyr]

UAVs that are intended to be used as single use expendable decoys don’t have to have any external command comm links. Basically a big fire and forget missile. No comm link, nothing to hack.

[Jonty30]

I don’t think China would care about accuracy too much.
Only a few would need to be accurate to metres. Being flying bombs otherwise.

[Jonty30]

That’s what I’m thinking. Give it a GPS location and let it crash. 5000 UAV’s built like that would do a lot of damage.

[RKM]

Rotsa ruck

[Revolutionary]

A fighter pilot’s dream. Lots of easy kills. Drop back and let the SAMs take the next wave and swoop in on the stragglers.

[palmer]

Basically a big fire and forget missile. No comm link, nothing to hack.

How does it get to the target?

[higgmeister]

That’s my first thought too, Alan-a-Dale.

[palmer]

Give it a GPS location and let it crash. 5000 UAV’s built like that would do a lot of damage.

GPS (or Cnicomm equivalent) will work during the battle for Taiwan?

[chief lee runamok]

Blowing up china's infrastructure and communications, stone age beijing
into piles of smoking radioactive rubble, would sanitize the issue.

[davidb56]

easy to shoot down as they will not evade.

[ETCM]

I’m not sure these will have any remote control capability. While the author fantasizes about them being equipped for air to air and SEAD missions, I suspect they will be little more than decoys or missiles. The “Eurasian Times” is very low quality source.

The USAF has converted about 200 F-16s to QF-16 Drones. Before the F-16, they had F-4 drones, and before that F-100, F-102 and F-106 were modified as target drones. The QF-16 is as maneuverable as the F-16 and is flown by a pilot on the ground, up to four drones by a single pilot. It already carries chaff, flares and ECM/EA pods, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the USAF had already incorporated weapons. With the F-16 being “fly by wire”, it is much better suited as a drone than the J-6/7/8. Of course AI will be the real game changer in drone capability.

[spetznaz]

And that is exactly what the drones are intended to be. A fighter pilot’s dream and an easy target for SAMs. So that they can soak Taiwan’s AAMs and SAMs and make it easier for the more modern fighters to survive.

[ifinnegan]

The “Red Tiger”?

Spare us.

[laplata]

The US defending Taiwan would be a losing proposition.

[Jewbacca]

Leftist sure can’t stand people doing their own thing, going their own way.

Any sane group would let Taiwan go. It’s not bothering anybody.

But no, leftist have to control.

It’s their nature. They know better than you how you should run your life.