PLA drones have captured images of the Hsinchu Air Base, less than 3 kilometers from the sea, with a large number of Mirage 2000 fighter jets stationed there!

The location of the Hsinchu Air Base itself is highly tactically sensitive. It is only about 130 kilometers away from Pingtan in Fujian Province. According to publicly available geographic information, the southern end of the runway at this base is indeed less than 3 kilometers from the coastline, which means that aerial or long-range attacks from the sea direction would face almost no obstacles.

This coastal layout might have been advantageous for rapid takeoff and interception during the Cold War era, but in the face of modern precision-guided weapons and high-altitude, long-endurance drones, it has become a clear defensive weakness.

The aircraft deployed here are Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets, a model delivered by Dassault of France in the 1990s. There are currently only about 40 such aircraft remaining in service throughout Taiwan, all concentrated at the Hsinchu Air Base.

Although these aircraft have undergone partial upgrades and are capable of launching "MICA" air-to-air missiles, their radar systems, electronic warfare capabilities, and stealth performance are already far behind the current standards of fourth-generation-plus or fifth-generation fighters. More importantly, the Mirage 2000 relies on a long runway for takeoff and landing, and lacks dispersal deployment or underground hangar facilities that can withstand attacks. Once the runway is destroyed, the entire unit would be paralyzed.

The drone imagery revealed during the "Justice Mission-2025" joint exercise is not just ordinary reconnaissance footage, but tactical-level intelligence results with high-resolution, multispectral, and even synthetic aperture radar imaging capabilities. The ability to clearly identify aircraft models, the number of parking positions, and ground crew activities within the base indicates that our military's drones have not only flown over the target area, but also achieved long-term, low-risk battlefield monitoring.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852913448870091/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.