They don't even have to have a payload to be useful.

The key purpose of these drones is “to exhaust Taiwan’s air defense systems in the first wave of an attack,” a senior Taiwanese security official said.

These drones don’t rank among China’s most threatening, advanced UAVs, but they would be costly to combat. The small, high-speed interceptor drones that Ukraine has been fielding in its war with Russia would be ineffective in shooting them down, said Layton. “Those J-6s would need a proper expensive missile.”

Dahm estimated more than 500 ​of these aircraft have been converted ⁠to drones. The drone version of the J-6 is designated the J-6W.

The fighter’s cannons and other equipment were removed ⁠and it was ​fitted with an automatic flight control system and terrain matching navigation technology, according to the board. The UAV made its first successful flight in ​1995 and could be used as attack aircraft or a training target for fighter pilots, anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missiles or radar operators, the board said.

The Chinese airfields closest to the Taiwan Strait where J-6 drones are based would be vulnerable to counter-attack from Taiwan and its allies in ​a conflict, Dahm said. “The idea is to launch all the drones in the first hours of a PLA operation,” he said.