China's Plan to invade Taiwan with Soviet jets

this is long Tian Airfield one of the closest pla air bases to Taiwan and these are Soviet era j6 fighter jets NATO codeen name farmer although we are looking at 1950s Jets we are not in the midst of the Cold War but in present day China and these are not simple Legacy aircraft but fully fledged attack drones in the cockpit there are no Pilots only computers and blinking lights 500 M away in the north some 300 j6s are lined up On LAN Airfield ramp and just a few miles away dozens of these are parked outside this one building but why the short story is that this is the facility where the conversion happens Luan Airfield is where the yet to be modified jets are stored and longtan Airfield is one of the few air bases where the Jets are based at and coincidential the majority of these bases are the closest to Taiwan and this is critical to understanding these drones role in a possible invasion of the [Music] Island from China's perspective these drones could be part of the first atable wave of invasion of Taiwan using the drones as bait for taiwan's air defenses or for kamakazi attacks or even risky ISR missions could greatly benefit the pla from employing these platforms across the Taiwan straight but before diving deep into their role let's first see what these aircraft are capable of the j6 is essentially a replica of the Soviet Mig 19 while the Soviet Union ceased production in the late 1960s China continued building them until the mid 1980s out of the over 3,000 produced an estimated 1,000 are still in operational conditions as of April 2022 around 600 j6 Jets had been converted into uavs but the actual number could be higher these aircraft are technologically old but they don't need to be Advanced on the contrary their Simplicity is in this case a critical Advantage the unmanned nature of these ucav eliminates the need for safety checks required for piloted aircraft additionally their Simplicity results in fewer moving parts and less complexity leading to reduced maintenance and repair needs compared to more advanced aircraft for example these Jets lack an onboard radar and are powered by two relatively simple engines from the 1950s each producing around 25 kons of thrust this is sufficient to propel the jet to supersonic speeds and carry up to 1,000 lb of ordinance over an operational range of 350 Mi the j6 uavs can carry various armaments including pl5 air-to-air missiles anti- Runway bombs and unguided Rockets some of these Jets may also be repurposed for intelligence missions conducting risky reconnaissance operations the conversion of Legacy Fighters into uavs offers numerous benefits these converted Jets retain the range payload capacity maneuverability and speed of their man counterparts making them effective and reducing the risk of casualties furthermore the process is relatively straightforward and missions can be automated and supported by specialized software reducing the need for human operators however where human participation can't be reduced is in listening to One Another before proceeding with the pla drones I would like to talk about mental health awareness with better help who sponsored part of this video May is mental health awareness month and it is a very good opportunity to talk more about mental health and what to do to improve it I can tell that when it gets all dark around you it's hard to open up to someone else and let some of that burden and darkness out but sometimes talking to someone is a very important process in digesting and unraveling what's going on inside however if there's not anyone to listen or if you're like me and you don't want to talk to someone else there are other ways to have your voice heard and get advice better help offers the possibility to reach out to a licensed therapist by phone call video chat but also just by messaging each other from your smartphone or PC betterhelp is a service to connect you to a trained and experienced professional who can support you from the comfort of your own home by visiting the link in the description or choosing Kim during sign up you can also enjoy a discount on your first month if you feel like talking to someone please feel free to reach out to today's sponsor betterhelp or someone close to you thanks to betterhelp and thank you for listening and now back to the video the primary reason why these aircraft are believed to be part of a potential invasion of Taiwan is due to their home bases the majority of the unmanned j6 drones are stationed at the plaaf airfields closest to Taiwan and by the way quick parenthesis here plaaf refers to airfields even though these are more like air [Music] bases satellite imagery shows these drones are primarily stored at two key bases longen and huan longen is located approximately 140 mi from Taipei the capital of Taiwan while huan is situated 190 mi from Gung taiwan's second largest city and logistical Hub the proximity of these drones to Taiwan is crucial in understanding their significance in a potential Invasion for starters despite their limited operational range of 350 Mi the proximity allows for the launch of multiple waves of drones without the need for aerial refueling or other logistical complexities this strategic positioning enables the drones to hover regroup and launch coordinated attacks swiftly moreover the presence of j6 drones near Taiwan creates ambiguity and confusion while more advanced aircraft like the j11s or j20 would trigger an immediate alarm in taiwan's air defenses the long-term presence of j6 drones currently for training purposes may appear less threatening these drones have often been utilized as training targets and have been observed flying alongside man Jets further complicating taiwan's ability to differentiate between training exercises and actual combat operations in the event of an invasion the ability to confuse And Delay taiwan's defenses could prove to be a critical Advantage from a Chinese perspective the j6 ucav drones could play a defensive role by acting as a shield to protect high value assets like man fighter jets or strategic bombers these Jets have the capacity to cruise at high subsonic speeds allowing them to fly in close proximity to more advanced aircraft this tactic would involve the drones absorbing hits from taiwan's Air defenses while also creating confusion on taiwan's radar by blending in with higher value platforms from the perspective of Chinese military strategists this bait out strategy offers two main advantages the initial wave of drones would draw fire from Taiwanese aerial defenses depleting ammunition and revealing the location of taiwan's units to anti-radiation missiles secondly Taiwan units that engage their targets are exposed revealing their location to anti-radiation missiles or even direct engagement from the j6 uavs another use of the j6 uavs could be to conduct aerial attacks on high-risk targets despite being technologically outdated the sheer number of these drones means that Taiwanese forces would have to contend with waves of hundreds of j6s simultaneously this swarming tactic is ideal for overwhelming the island with potentially over a thousand j6 Dron stationed nearby the drones penetrating taiwan's air defenses could also be used to directly against Targets on the island the payload of the aircrafts makes them capable of transporting bombs and other armaments that could be used against targets there's also another aspect to consider the so-called sakada strategy as argued by Daniel rice in a paper for the Mitchell Institutes of Aeronautics there's a critical characteristic to the air bases that home the j6 uavs hardened shelters rice argues using the analogy of cicas that these shelters could be incubators where j6s are stored for long term periods and then used for an invasion of Taiwan satellite images show that j6s are indeed utilizing these hardened shelters showing j6 uavs taxiing in and out of these facilities Rice's satellite imagery analysis reveals a significant increase in the construction of hardened shelters beginning in 200 8 in particular five air bases within this 250 Mi radius are estimated to have a total of 126 hardened shelters although for modern aircrafts the count is one hardened shelter for one aircraft that might not be the case for the j6 ucav modern aircraft are much larger than Legacy jets for example the j11 has almost twice the wingspan of the j6 unmanned planes also require less maintenance and flight preparations compared to manned aircraft allowing for simpler tasks inside the shelters and longer storage periods between maintenance rice suggests that if each shelter could accommodate three uavs Chinese forces could potentially forward position around 300 aircraft after the first wave of j6 uavs would be sent these same shelters could be used to pre position high value aircraft closer to the coast concealing them from us and Taiwanese early Warning Systems typically these aircraft are based at Eastern theater command fields located further Inland like a cicada biing its time Underground before emerging the j6s could be strategically positioned ready to be deployed into action when the time is right using Legacy aircraft to bait new anti-air systems is not new during the conflict between arm and aeran over the disputed nagoro kabak region azerbajan utilized converted unmanned 1950s and two crop dusters as bait drones to lure out Armenian air defenses and expose them to counter strikes from loitering Munitions or anti-radiation missiles launched from other high value platforms to exacerbate the situation the an2 were equipped with bombs making them a prime target for Defenders or if left unchallenged a threat to other objectives before the conflict aeran had some 61 platforms whereas at the end of the conflict only 26 aircraft could be seen this strategy proved successful for azerbajan enabling them to achiev their objective of gaining control over the negoro kabak region keeping track of these aircraft movements and the movement in and out of the Harden shelters could become a useful way to keep track of covert build-ups used in invasion of the island the utilization of Legacy fighter jets such as the j6 in a potential invasion of Taiwan could provide the pla with several advantages these include the ability to lure out Taiwanese air defenses and even carry out direct attacks on Taipei the effectiveness of similar tactics was demonstrated during the conflict between Armenia and azerbajan over the disputed negoro karabach region proving that these strategies are not just theoretical but are actively being tested and implemented on the battlefield with tangible results furthermore employing these tactics could serve as an early warning system for Taiwan allowing them to detect potential buildups in advance and better prepare for the defense of the island if you like this video please consider supporting our Channel by subscribing to our patreon and joining our community on Discord where we engage in discussions about geopolitical matters thank you once again and hope to see you in the next video ciao [Music]

Channel: Kamome

Views: 277,349

Keywords: documentary, narration, geopolitics, science, map, map animation, international relations, strategy, narrated documentary, geography, politics, China, Taiwan, US, Japan, geopolitics of asia, Taiwan politics, Taiwan strategy, infographic, narrated video, China-US

Id: pg0UpyJdjAA

Length: 13min 16sec (796 seconds)

Published: Thu May 30 2024