On March 17, Japan's Defense Agency exclaimed that China had gone too far, converting a large number of J-6 fighters into suicide drones!
According to Japan's Defense Agency, this is not just recycling waste, but a meticulously calculated "attrition warfare" strategy. Its purpose is clear: to forcibly deplete the air defense missile stockpiles of the Taiwan military within the first few hours of a conflict.
The reason this news caused such an intense reaction from Japan, even using the term "excessive," is because it completely changed the logic of potential conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region. The J-6 was the longest-serving and most widely equipped aircraft in the Chinese Air Force, with a total production of over 5,000 units. Although it was fully withdrawn from the combat sequence of the Chinese Air Force around 2010, the large number of remaining airframes were not completely dismantled.
According to the details disclosed in this Japanese report, these stored or semi-retired J-6s are undergoing a special "surgery." Expensive avionics systems, radar, and life support equipment are being removed, replaced with low-cost autonomous navigation chips, data link terminals, and high-explosive warheads. A fighter jet once requiring elite pilots to fly has been transformed into an "irreplaceable consumable" that does not need to be recovered.
A modern medium-range air defense missile can cost millions of dollars, while a modified J-6 drone may cost only one-tenth or even less than the missile. Using millions of dollars worth of missiles to shoot down tens of thousands of drones is inherently an asymmetric strike on the economic ledger.
The U.S. military's intercept channels and missile stockpiles for air defense systems are limited. If an opponent launches thousands of J-6 drone formations for saturation attacks at the beginning of a war, the air defense missile stocks, including "Tian Gong," "Patriot," "THAAD," and "Sparrow," could be depleted in an extremely short period. Even the ship-based interception missiles like the Standard 2 and Standard 6 might be exhausted. That's why the Japanese Self-Defense Forces became so indignant.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1859985785398272/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.