Warplanes in Straits drills ‘can seize control of air’

In two consecutive days of military drills in the Taiwan Straits on Friday and Saturday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly conducted nearly 40 sorties featuring four major types of warplanes – air superiority fighters, multirole fighters, bombers and an anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which Chinese mainland analysts said are capable of seizing air superiority and command of the sea over the island of Taiwan and in the Straits.

Two H-6 bombers, eight J-16 fighters, four J-10 fighters and four J-11 fighters on Friday, and 12 J-16 fighters, two J-10 fighters, two J-11 fighters, two H-6 bombers and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft on Saturday crossed the “middle line” of the Taiwan Straits, said Taiwan’s defense authority.

Mainland analysts pointed out that the warplane combination the PLA deployed in the exercises is very accurate to a real combat situation and covers many different scenarios.

J-10 and J-11 fighters are mainly used in combat against hostile aircraft, H-6 bombers are used to attack warships and ground facilities, J-16 fighters are multirole and can tackle all aerial, maritime and land targets, and the Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft can locate and attack enemy submarines, said a mainland expert.

According to Taiwan’s defense authority, PLA air superiority fighters, namely the J-10s and J-11s, operated to the northwest of the island close to Hsinchu and Taichung, where the island’s Mirage 2000 and F-CK-1 fighters are based.

Several J-16 fighters, probably equipped with air-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and ground attack weapons, reportedly operated to the north of the island, near Taipei, Keelung and Yilan, where the political center and some of the naval bases of the Taiwan island are located.

The other J-16s found themselves to the southwest of the island, near the H-6 bombers and the Y-8 antisubmarine warfare aircraft. Analysts expect the J-16s to deal with Taiwan F-16 and F-CK-1 fighters based in Chiayi and Tainan, while also escort and cooperate with the H-6s in eliminating Taiwan warships based in Penghu and Kaohsiung with antiship missiles if necessary.

The warplane combination the PLA deployed in the exercises is very accurate to a real combat situation and covers many different scenarios.