China Keeps Flying Its Su-30 Fighters Over Taiwan, but How Do They Stack Up? by Kris Osborn

Chinese Su-30 fighters entered the Soutwestern airspace of Taiwan in early June as part of a rather transparent, deliberate warning to the U.S. and Taiwan that China was ready to attack if needed. The flights, as described in a report from the Global Times, were sent as a message following continued military-to-military cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan, U.S. transport aircraft flights over Taiwan and the passage of a U.S. Destroyer through the Taiwan Straits. 

The People’s Liberation Army Su-30 fighter jets flew over Taiwan just one day after a U.S. military aircraft flew over the island to, as Chinese officials reportedly told the Global Times, “counter the provocative move by the U.S. military aircraft.” 

The Su-30s are Russian-built fighters in service with the PLA since the early 2000s, it’s described as having long-endurance, advanced passive electronically-scanned array radar systems, infrared search and track, a reconnaissance pod, targeting sensors and medium-range air-to-air-missiles. Interestingly, some have likened the Su-30 to the U.S, F-15, despite the fact that the Su-30 emerged roughly 15 years later. Despite its 1980s origins, there are many reasons why today’s upgraded F-15 may in fact be equivalent if not superior to the more modern Su-30s. While the original F-15 airframe may have emerged from the 1980s, the 2020 U.S. F-15 is essentially an entirely new airplane. 

The Air Force currently operates roughly 400 F-15C, D and E variants—and plans to keep the aircraft flying into the 2040s. In recent years, the F-15 has been in the process of receiving new weapons, electronic warfare systems, infrared search and track, radar and high-speed computing technology to massively improve the performance characteristics of the aircraft. Upgraded F-15 are in the process of operating with Active Electronically Scanned Array radar and an electronic warfare system called EPAWSS, the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System. 

The weapons-carrying ability is being increased from 8 up to 16 weapons; this includes an ability to fire AIM-9x or AIM-120 missiles and drop the emerging high-tech Stormbreaker bomb. The Stormbreaker is an air-dropped all-weather bomb engineered with a tri-mode seeker able to track and destroy moving targets from ranges out to 40 miles, Raytheon developers say. 

The F-15 has also been getting a cutting-edge in-flight targeting technology called Infrared Search and Track (IRST); the system, also installed onto Navy F/A-18s, is engineered for air-to-air targeting technology and operating in high-threat jamming or electronic warfare environments, Navy developers say. 

Other upgrades to the aircraft equip the F-15 with the fastest jet-computer processor in the world, called the Advanced Display Core Processor, or ADCPII; the computer is capable of processing 87 billion instructions per second of computing throughput, Boeing developers say. The aircraft have also been getting a “fly-by-wire” automated flight control system, upgrades to the pilot’s digital helmet and some radar-signature reducing or stealthy characteristics. 

However, at the same time, the F-15 is not a stealthy aircraft and is expected to be used in combat environments in what is called “less contested” environments where the Air Force already has a margin of air superiority over advanced enemy air defenses. For this reason, the F-15 will also be increasingly networked so as to better support existing 5th-generation platforms such as the F-22 and F-35, Air Force officials said.

As for what this may mean in terms of possible air superiority over Taiwan, there are many seemingly unanswered questions. Some of the avionics, electrical systems, sensing and weapons systems of the Su-30 might still be unknown, and any kind of air dominance over the Taiwan Strait would likely hinge more fully on the quality of each countries’ 5th-Generation aircraft—such as U.S. F-35s and F-22s vs. Chinese J-20s and J-31s—and advanced air defenses. However, any kind of medium or large-scale engagement between China and a U.S.-Taiwanese coalition could very well involve 4th-generation air-to-air combat. 

Taiwan jets 'drive away' intruding Chinese fighter plane, third intrusion in days

Taiwan air force jets "drove away" a Chinese fighter plane that briefly entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Tuesday, the defence ministry said, reporting the third intrusion in a week.

The single J-10 fighter was given radio warnings to leave before the Taiwanese air force jets ushered the intruder out of the airspace southwest of the island, the ministry said.

On Tuesday last week, the ministry said several Su-30 fighters, some of China's most advanced jets, crossed into the same airspace and were also warned to leave.

On Friday, the ministry said a Chinese Y-8, a propeller aircraft based on a Soviet-era design some of which have been retrofitted as surveillance aircraft, was warned too by Taiwan's air force to leave the air space, again in the southwest.

The Y-8 flight came a few hours after Taiwan said it had carried out missile tests off its eastern coast.

Taiwan has complained that China, which claims the democratic island as its own, has stepped up military activities in recent months, menacing Taiwan even as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

China has not commented publicly on the last week of Chinese air force activity near Taiwan. Beijing routinely says such exercises are nothing unusual and are designed to show the country's determination to defend its sovereignty.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. One of China's most senior generals last month said China would attack if there was no other way of stopping Taiwan becoming independent.

China is deeply suspicious of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, whom it accuses of being a separatist intent on declaring formal independence. Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.

The United States has stepped up its military activities near the island too, with semi-regular navy voyages through the narrow Taiwan Strait.