US and China plan drone attack if Taiwan invasion breaks out

While the US acknowledges that China has a “mass advantage” due to its navy, which exceeded the size of the American fleet more than three years ago, it hopes to overcome the size difference through “strategic competition” in drone warfare.

The first drones of the Replicator program, which was launched in August, have already arrived in the Pacific.

The cost of the program is estimated at one billion dollars (790 million pounds).

Most of the drones to be used in the American “swarm” are classified, but Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, said the fleet includes the Switchblade 600 – a model that has been used successfully in Ukraine to destroy armored vehicles from a distance of 37 kilometers.

Other drones will fly through the water, while a third category will focus on shooting down enemy Chinese aircraft and missiles.

Analysts with ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) say China is already working on a plan to counter US drones and overcome American resistance to an invasion.