Chinese specialists have converted the Shenyang J-6 fighter (a licensed copy of the Soviet MiG-19) into an unmanned aerial vehicle. It was named J-6W. The UAV was shown at the Changchun Air Show in China.
The Shenyang J-6 was considered the most mass-produced fighter in China. From the 1960s to the 1980s, it was the backbone of the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA).
In 2002, the J-6 was decommissioned. However, Chinese engineers were in no hurry to send the aircraft for scrap and found a new use for it.
What the J-6W drone received
The J-6W drone lost its cannons, ejection seats and external fuel tanks. It was equipped with autopilot and terrain navigation systems, equipment responsible for automatic flight control, as well as pylons for payload.
The first flight of the J-6W took place in 1995. The UAV was used as a training target. Now it is positioned as a "decoy" to divert enemy fire.
About the Shenyang J-6 fighter
The USSR transferred technical documentation for the production of the MiG-19P (all-weather interceptor fighter) with radar in the late 1950s. The first Chinese aircraft, named Shenyang J-6, took off in December 1958. Then, the Shenyang plant established mass production of licensed MiGs.