The recordWhat this system is, where it comes from, who operates it and which of Vigil’s modules it is relevant to — with the evidence each of those rests on.
Record
Conflict relevance
This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the module below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.
Battlefield role
Standoff missile carriage. Its role in this module is signalling: bomber participation in an activity report or an exercise carries deliberate political weight that a fighter sortie does not.
Strengths
Long range and heavy standoff missile payload, and progressive modernisation of an old airframe into a capable launch platform.
Limitations
A large, non-stealthy 1950s-derived airframe with no ability to survive contested airspace — its utility rests entirely on launching weapons from a distance. Vigil publishes no basing, inventory or employment detail.
Campaign relevance
Derived: a participant organisation in these campaigns carries a typed equipment association with this system. That is not the same as documented use of the system in the campaign itself.
- Sustained pressure below the threshold Intensifying since 2020
via PLA Air Force (Documented, high confidence)
Documented conflict use
Regularly reported in Taiwanese detection summaries and Japanese transit reporting, and prominent in the major exercises around Taiwan since 2022.
Branch & service operators
- PLA Air Force Documented
Assessed as of2026-07Last reviewed2026-07-20