By David Axe
On the other hand, defenses could be useful against a rival with just a handful of nuclear weapons–say, one of the so-called rogue states. ‘The Chinese may feel the situation in North Korea could get so out of control that the North Koreans might use ballistic missiles against the Chinese,’ Swaine suggests. ‘I hasten to add that I don’t share this view.’
Coyle says he was ‘impressed’ when he read details of the Chinese test. Military analyst John Pike, from the think tank Globalsecurity.org in Alexandria, Virginia, was not. He says the tests were all about ‘bragging rights.’ ‘Anything the Americans can do,
the “Chicoms” can do better,’ Pike imagined Chinese officials thinking.
Swaine appears to concur. ‘The test as I understand it was extremely scripted, even more than US anti-ballistic-missile tests. Apparently the target time and location was communicated to the interceptor. You may excuse that as early-phase testing, but some people have concluded that this system in its current form isn’t really suited to the anti-ballistic-missile mission.’
The Chinese system could, however, be used against slow, predictable targets–say, US satellites. In 2007, the Chinese military launched a missile to destroy a derelict satellite in a highly scripted test of a rudimentary anti-satellite capability. This year’s test could represent a continuation of those efforts, Swaine says. Beijing has long sought what the Pentagon calls ‘asymmetric’ military capabilities meant to strike at key American vulnerabilities in its communications and surveillance infrastructure.
As a legitimate missile defense, or a sat-killer, the Chinese interceptor could make for a valuable export item, Coyle says. Ironically, customers could include US allies worried about Iranian or North Korean missiles, which allegedly have Chinese components. Not that it’s unheard of for a nation to sell weapons to all sides in an international rivalry. Several years ago, Washington offered F-35 stealth fighters to Israel. In January, Lockheed Martin, the company that makes the F-35, said the Israeli sale would probably force Israel’s Arab neighbors to buy F-35s, too.
‘I don’t know what China’s purpose or motives were for the test,’ Coyle says, an uncertainty that places him in good company.
Swaine, for his part, says even the Chinese might have only the vaguest notion of what their new missile defense is for. ‘Absent any proof, one could say it’s a prudent effort to develop technology that could be applied in several different areas,’ he says. ‘Maybe it’s part of a longer-term project to develop technology, the uses for which … no clear decision has been made about.’
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John Smith
What I would like to understand is why, as an ally of America and the west, are the Israelis providing missile guidance technology to the Chinese for sure at the Chinese missile research centre in the Xuanwu district of Nanjing?
Noble
I dont completely agree to the author
Russia is also working on a credible anti missile technolgy after their own S400 systems are to be deployed by phasing out s300
IRON DOME of israel is a credible anti missile system against katyusha rockets from lebanon and missile threats from iran
But its the indian PAC and AAD that deserves your attention
it has acheieved almost 99% kill rate in almost all tests conducted except tests when the target misssile failed to take off to the skies
India ,through these tests has succesfully demonstrated its growing path towards a similar system as the IRON DOME or the patriot
India has so far tested both endo atmospheric kill as well as exo atmospheric kill and going to do tests on ICBMS’s
if u like my reply please visit my blog
http://www.whatshappeningaround2010.blogspot.com
or mail me