The reason China sent outdated fighters close to Taiwan

The attack on the island of Taiwan on June 17 by Chinese aircraft involved four J-7s, a fighter model built on the basis of the Soviet MiG-21 and known as the `old man’s plane`.

The Chinese military also sent a number of more modern aircraft, including two J-16 multi-role fighters and a Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, to fly into the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) of the island of Taiwan, causing a stir.

China’s J-7 fighter during a sea flight training trip.

A military source said these J-7s were piloted by pilots and participated in a close-in raid to test the response capabilities of the defense forces and the public on the island of Taiwan.

`Four J-7s made a short flight after taking off from the air base in Shantou, Guangdong province,` the source said.

Taiwan’s Defense Forces in March suspended all military aircraft for safety checks, except for units on defense or combat duty, after an accident that killed two pilots off the coast.

Chinese military sources also raised the possibility that this was a `front line` flight for J-7 fighters that the country has converted into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Tong said the Chinese military has used the J-7 as a training target since 1997.

`There are many J-7 variants, they are known as small F-16s,` Antony Wong Tong said.

Shenyang Aircraft Corporation manufactured J-7 fighters in the period 1965-2013.

Taiwan Island and the Strait of the same name.

Lu Le Thi, a former lecturer at Taiwan’s maritime defense academy, said the Chinese military built UAVs because they help minimize human damage if an incident occurs.

A sign displayed at the 2018 Zhuhai Air Show listed the benefits of converting decommissioned fighters into UAVs, including retaining their original combat capabilities, saving money and reducing the risk of casualties.

Ben Ho, an air force expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, believes that China studied the tactics used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020.

`The Chinese military can apply Azerbaijan’s tactics and use the J-7 as a decoy to suppress enemy air defense systems in regional conflicts,` Ben Ho said.

`It would be reasonable if the J-7 were deployed as a target UAV because their size is similar to the F-16 and IDF, two fighters that play a pivotal role in Taiwan’s air defense force.`

China has always considered Taiwan a province awaiting reunification and declared its readiness to use force if necessary.