Cultural Revolution. The H-6 was used to drop nine nuclear devices at the Lop Nur test site. However, with the increased development in ballistic missile technology, the nuclear delivery capabilities that the H-6 offered diminished in importance. The CIA estimated in 1976 that the H-6 had moved over to a dual nuclear/conventional bombing role. Operation Today, H-6 variants are used by the PLAAF (primarily H-6Ks) and PLANAF (primarily H-6Js). Originally PLAAF bombers were used by the eight bomber divisions of the total fifty PLAAF air divisions. At present, PLAAF bombers are found in three conventional bomber divisions assigned to the PLA's theater commands and the nuclear 106th and 23rd Air Brigades. The three conventional bomber divisions of the PLAAF are the 10th Air Division (Eastern Theater Command), 8th Air Division (Southern Theater Command), and 36th Air Division (Central Theater Command). The 10th Air Division is likely responsible for conflicts in the Taiwan Strait or East China Sea, the 8th for conflicts in the South China Sea, and the 36th may be used as a national reserve. H-6s are garrisoned at Anqing, Luhe, Shaodong, Leiyang, Lintong, Wugong, and Neixiang Air Bases. On 13 July 2017, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) scrambled jets from Okinawa, intercepted, and photographed six Chinese H-6K bombers conducting long-range drills over the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait through the Taiwanese, East China Sea, and Japanese Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ). A PLA spokesperson told Chinese news service CGTN that the aircraft were "testing actual battle capabilities over the sea" as part of "routine exercises". Two bombers were of the 8th Air Division and the remaining four of the Eastern Theater Command's 10th Air Division. Similarly, on 25 May 2018, the JASDF joined F-16 fighter jets of Taiwanese Air Force in intercepting and photographing two H-6K bombers looping around the Taiwan Island through the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait. A photo released by the JASDF shows an H-6K of the 8th Air Division, tail number 10192. In a summer 2021 attempt to demonstrate British commitment to freedom of maritime navigation and challenging Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group, despite warnings by Chinese Communist Party press, sailed through international waters in the South China Sea. Part of these warnings included China Central Television (CCTV) airing a segment featuring ground crews strapping four YJ-12 anti-ship cruise missiles to hardpoints under