A file photo of a PLA H-6K bomber flying above the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan's Yushan Mountain is in the background. Photo: PLA Daily
Asia Times: PLAAF plateau drills mock raids on Taiwan’s hinterlands
China's pilots fly over rugged mountain areas and plateaus in the west to familiarize themselves with the terrain of Taiwan.
Pilots and aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command were recently marshaled westward for a flyover and simulated dogfights above a craggy, frigid area on the edge of the vast Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the PLA Daily reported.
That seemingly routine exercise in the wildness of western China had everything to do with the southeastern island of Taiwan, a military affairs commentator told the Beijing-based tabloid Global Times.
The drill saw rocket-propelled grenades destroy tiny targets on the ground.
Ballistic trajectories are different above elevated terrain as the air gets thinner along with the increase in altitude, while oxygen deficiency is also physically challenging for the pilots, who also have to overcome turbulence as their jets fly over mountain valleys and gorges.
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Update: Chinese Aircraft Drill Over Mountains as War With Taiwan Becomes 'More Probable’ (Sputnik)
WNU editor: China's views on Taiwan are well known. Taiwan is a break-away region, and China reserves the right to do what is necessary to bring it back under its jurisdiction. So yes .... they are training to invade Taiwan, and this has been the case for a very long time.
