Local air defense specialists yesterday dismissed reports that China's J-10 jet fighters -- the latest major aircraft to be deployed by the Chinese air force -- poses a threat to Taiwan.
"Based on our analysis of the aircraft's background and [our knowledge] of the training of Taiwanese and Chinese pilots," the J-10 is not a threat to Taiwan, said Pan Kong-hsiao (潘恭孝), director of the National Defense University's air force department.
Pan was approached yesterday for comments regarding the Chinese air force's admission early this year that the J-10 jet fighter had joined its fleet. A number of military magazines and arms experts have said that the J-10 could become a threat to Taiwan.
Pan said that should a J-10 aircraft attack Taiwan, it would first have to contend with local air defense missiles, followed by Taiwan's F-16 fighters. The J-10 would not have enough fuel to disengage, return to its base and refill, Pan said.
High maintenance
Pan added that maintenance for the J-10 aircraft would be troublesome for the Chinese air force.
"The aircraft is the result of a combination of technology from four countries -- Israel, the US, Russia and China. In comparison, Taiwanese jet fighters are a lot easier to maintain since we are using only pure US or French aircraft, as well as self-developed fighters," Pan said.
However, Pan said he would not deny that the J-10's state-of-the-art radar and weapon systems could be a threat to Taiwan.
"The Chinese air force is evolving," Pan said. "They have been shifting focus from quantity to quality. They are now paying more attention to the quality of their weapons."
An air force commander, however, said he was confident that Taiwanese pilots would be able to handle their Chinese opponents.
Having quality aircraft is one thing, but they can't do much without quality pilots, said Major General Shen Yi-ming (
Quality pilots
"Performance wise, the J-10 is just about the same as our Mirage 2000-5s and F-16s. But the quality of Chinese pilots falls well below ours,'" Shen said.
The air force general added that Chinese pilots rely on commands from their supervisors on the ground during battle. Tai-wanese pilots, conversely, are trained to make quick decisions in the air whenever they encounter any form of danger during war.
"It is the key to winning in the air, and winners take all," Shen said.
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