Multiple sources have claimed that the Chinese government is suspiciously repositioning its military assets, signaling possible future activity around Taiwan.
The reports come from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, which tracks Chinese military might and defense systems.
'We are concerned by the increased pressure from Beijing, including military activity around Taiwan.'
The China Airpower Tracker reportedly showed lines of typically retired Chinese fighter jets, which have drawn suspicion from experts. The J-6 fighter (also known as the Shenyang J-6) was first developed in the late 1950s.
China retired the line of jets in the late 1990s, but now, experts say, China is retrofitting the old fighters to serve as unmanned craft and staging them at six air bases close to the Taiwan Strait. Mitchell Institute senior fellow J. Michael Dahm told Reuters that approximately 200 obsolete fighters were being converted to drones.
The drones could be used to "attack Taiwan, U.S., or allied targets in large numbers, effectively overwhelming air defenses," Dahm claimed.
At the same time, the Mitchell Institute is not the only source noticing some of China's militaristic anomalies.
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In a March 17 report, Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies noticed "small swept-wing aircraft parked on the same apron" as the newer J-16 multi-role fighter at Zhangzhou's Longtian Airport, "presumed to be a J-6 fighter (equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks)."
The NIDS concluded that "there is no immediately apparent rational explanation for the presence of J-6s at forward airfields. The co-existence of state-of-the-art multi-role fighters and obsolete fighters cannot be explained simply by a fleet modernization program," the report continued. "Rather, it suggests that they may be assigned different missions."
Noting that the J-6 is no longer capable of enduring modern air-to-air battles, the report said it is "not technically implausible" that it could be recommissioned into service following a conversion to an "unmanned configuration."
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"We are concerned by the increased pressure from Beijing, including military activity around Taiwan that raises the risk of miscalculation," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a recent Taiwan briefing.
Taiwanese Deputy Minister Hsu Szu-chien said he hoped the United States would soon expedite a process for arm sales to his country.
"This would greatly facilitate our efforts to secure funding for the special defense budget," said Szu-chien.
Reuters also reported that the U.S. is preparing an arm sales package to Taiwan worth $14 billion.
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President Joe Biden mocked Second Amendment supporters on Tuesday by saying they need fighter jets — not AR-15 rifles — to challenge the government.
While speaking at a campaign event in California, Biden addressed gun violence and pushed numerous false claims.
First, Biden claimed the National Rifle Association wields "overwhelming power" and "is the only outfit in the nation that we cannot sue as an institution." This, of course, is not true. There is an active lawsuit in New York against the NRA that a judge has ruled can proceed.
Next, Biden claimed the Second Amendment explicit does not state that you can "own any weapon you want."
"There’s a lot of things we can change because the American people by and large agree you don't need a weapon of war. I’m a Second Amendment guy. I taught it six years in law school. And guess what? It doesn’t say that you can own any weapon you want. It says there are certain weapons that you just can’t own. Even during when it was passed, you couldn’t own a cannon," Biden said.
However, the text of the Second Amendment does not explicitly prohibit the ownership of any weapons. It states:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Moreover, it's not true that Americans were prohibited from owning cannons. Biden has been repeatedly fact-checked on the claim, which is downright false.
"We have no idea where he conjured up this notion about a ban on cannon ownership in the early days of the Republic, but he needs to stop making this claim," wrote Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler.
Finally, Biden responded to the argument that Second Amendment advocates make: A populace without arms is subjected to government tyranny. But according to Biden, your guns don't matter — because the government has fighter jets.
"Well, if you want to do that, you want to work against the government, you need an F-16. You need something else than just an AR-15," Biden sneered.
Biden used the same argument in January – that Americans would need fighter jets or nuclear weapons to challenge the U.S. government — to push gun control.
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U.S. fighter jets were scrambled Sunday afternoon, creating a sonic boom, after a Cessna Citation passenger jet violated airspace around Washington, D.C., Reuters and other outlets reported.
The aircraft, which can carry seven to 12 passengers, crashed into mountainous terrain in southwest Virginia around 3 p.m., WHSV reported. The plane had not yet been found as of 5:20 p.m.
The fighter jets did not cause the crash, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Officials said the Cessna was ignoring radio queries and flying on a "strange flight path," Fox News Channel's Lucas Tomlinson reported.
\u201cUPDATE: F-16 fighter jet from DC National Guard was \u201ccleared supersonic to respond\u201d to unknown Cessna ignoring radio queries flying on \u201cstrange flight path\u201d outside nation\u2019s capital, officials say. FAA says Cessna crashed near Staunton, Virginia.\u201d— Lucas Tomlinson (@Lucas Tomlinson) 1685911882
Reports of a "loud boom" flooded Twitter near the time of the crash. Various authorities, including the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management tweeted to reassure citizens there was no current threat.
The Cessna left Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Tennessee bound for Long Island MacArthur Airport in New York, WHSV also reported.
Virginia State Police told the outlet search efforts by state and local authorities are underway.
Fox 5 DC reported that a Cessna 560 Citation registered as N611VG took off from an airport, flew over New York, New Jersey, and Maryland in something of an elongated loop, then descended into a mountainous area in Virginia. It is not clear whether the two events are related.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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If you’re looking for something to get you more excited to celebrate America’s 250th birthday than you already are, drop everything you’re doing and go see the Top Gun movies in theaters right now. To commemorate the iconic 1986 film’s 40-year anniversary, Paramount Pictures re-released Top Gun and its riveting sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, in […]
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