China is converting J-6 fighters into drones
This is reported by thepublic.info citing South China Morning Post
The People's Liberation Army of China (PLAA) has introduced a combat drone converted from a decommissioned J-6 fighter aircraft from the 1950s. The idea is that such an aircraft could be used for swarm attacks in the event of a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
The presentation took place at an air show in northeastern China. The appearance of the drone confirmed long-standing rumors about the PLA's attempts to repurpose its outdated J-6 fleet.
China has produced thousands of J-6 fighters, developed based on the Soviet MiG-19, from the 1960s to the 1980s. The second-generation supersonic aircraft has a maximum speed of 1.3 Mach, significantly less than the modern Chinese J-20 fighter's capabilities (over 2.0 Mach). The combat range of the J-6 is 700 km, and its payload capacity can reach 250 kg.
A significant part of the old J-6 airframe was incorporated into the drone's design, making it fast and inexpensive to produce, as well as suitable for one-time use.
The modification involved removing all crew-related components, such as guns, auxiliary tanks, and ejection seats. The aircraft were then upgraded with an autonomous flight control system, autopilot, and terrain-aware navigation. Additional combat modules were added to increase capacity.
«It can serve as a strike aircraft or a target drone during training», – the exhibit description states.
Although Soviet-era aircraft are outdated, the sheer number of J-6 drones would make them economically effective for a war of attrition. It is estimated that the PLA has about 3,000 such fighters.
«Hundreds or even thousands of these aircraft could swarm in – it would be scarier than missiles», – Shua said, adding that imported American Patriot interceptors were expensive.
Sun Zhongpin, a military commentator and former PLAA instructor, stated that the drones could serve as vanguards in a conflict with Taiwan, conducting large-scale attacks and forcing the island to use expensive air defense missiles such as Patriot and Taiwanese TC-2.
«Taiwan is a region with one of the highest concentrations of air defense missiles», – said Song.
«In case of conflict, the safety of manned aircraft cannot be fully guaranteed, and the cost of their loss will be high. Drones are needed to suppress and exhaust the capabilities of air defense».
Song said that re-purposing the J-6 would be relatively inexpensive.
«The simplest and most economical modification would be to use it as a kamikaze drone, – he added. If used as an reconnaissance drone, the cost of re-equipping would be much higher».
