TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A military analyst created an infographic to present the approximate location and types of Chinese military aircraft that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from Sept. 11-18.
From Sept. 11-15, China's Shandong aircraft carrier of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) led an "unprecendently large carrier group" that included over 20 naval vessels operating to the east of Taiwan. Over this same period, 161 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft were detected around Taiwan, including 68 reported on Sept. 14.
Vietnamese journalist Duan Dong reported that the Shandong had returned to the South China Sea via the Luzon Strait on Sept. 15. PLAAF activity dropped off to only nine aircraft on Friday (Sept. 15) and eight aircraft and Saturday (Sept. 16).
However, there was a massive surge of 103 Chinese military aircraft detected around Taiwan on Sunday (Sept. 17), a new single-day record. Forty aircraft either crossed the median line or entered the southwest or southern sectors of the ADIZ, while the rest operated to the west of the median line, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND).
On Monday (Sept.18), Damien Symon, an open-source intelligence researcher, uploaded an infographic on X showing the types of Chinese aircraft in Taiwan's ADIZ between Sept. 11-18.
Chengdu J-10, Shenyang J-11, Shenyang J-16, and Sukhoi Su-30 fighters and Xian H-6 bombers were tracked during that time. Symon noted that PLAAF intelligence and other support aircraft and drones tended to cluster in the southwest and southern sectors of the ADIZ.
Here is quick infographic of #China's recent air force operations towards #Taiwan between 11-18 September 2023, as of the last 24 hours Taiwan detected 103 China PLA aircraft with many crossing the into its ADIZ, this being a record high ! pic.twitter.com/6kynBo7MvN
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) September 18, 2023
