REUTERS, Hong Kong

China has stationed obsolete supersonic fighters converted to attack drones at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait, according to a new report by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Satellite imagery of these airfields from the February report, “China Airpower Tracker,” shows what appear to be lines of stubby, swept-winged aircraft matching the shape of J-6 fighters that first flew with the Chinese air force in the 1960s. Since their conversion to drones, these aircraft have been identified at five bases in Fujian Province and one in Guangdong Province, according to the report from the Arlington-Virginia based institute.

Senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute, J. Michael Dahm, said China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has deployed an estimated 200 or more obsolete fighters converted to drones to airfields near the Taiwan Strait.

These jets-turned-drones would fly into targets in the opening phase of an assault on Taiwan, Dahm, a former US naval intelligence officer, told Reuters. They would be used more like cruise missiles than autonomous or remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

“They will attack Taiwan, US or allied targets in large numbers, effectively overwhelming air defenses,” said Dahm. He compiled the data for the report from open source intelligence and commercial satellite imagery. China dominates the global commercial drone market. It is also investing heavily in military drone technologies as it builds the firepower it needs to seize control of Taiwan by force if necessary.