Stars and Stripes: Chinese satellite guided anti-ship missile may complicate relations with U.S

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — This week Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi dutifully smiling and shaking hands.

Behind the scenes of the meeting, an ominous new Chinese weapons system is further complicating the tense Sino-American military dialogue.

The advanced weapon, a medium-range anti-ship ballistic missile known as the Dong Feng 21D, is “nearing operational capability,” according to a report last year by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

And if its targeting system proves accurate, the Dong Feng would rank as the world’s first mobile, land-based ImrBM capable of hitting a moving aircraft carrier from nearly 2,000 miles away.

Rightardia reported on this missile on June 15, 2009: see http://tinyurl.com/nzkb28. The Chinese also rolled out a prototype of this missile during it 60th Anniversary celebration in October, 2009. See http://tinyurl.com/36n3kxb

According to Wikipedia, the US Department of Defense has stated that China is developing a conventionally-armed high hypersonic land-based anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) based on the DF-21,[10] with a range of up to 3,000 km (1,900 mi).

This would be the world's first and only ASBM and the world's first weapons system capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers. These would combine maneuverable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) with some kind of a satellite based terminal guidance system.

Such a missile may have been tested in 2005-6, and the launch of the Jianbing-5/YaoGan-1 and Jianbing-6/YaoGan-2 satellites would give the Chinese targeting information from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and visual imaging respectively.

The upgrades would greatly enhance China's ability to conduct sea-denial operations to prevent US carriers from intervention in the Taiwan Strait.

China has recently launched a series of satellites to support its ASBM efforts.

Source: http://www.stripes.com/news/new-chinese-anti-ship-missile-may-complicate-relations-with-u-s-1.111552

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source: http://wonkette.com/

Chinese 60th Anniversary Parade

Beijing - China put on a spectacular show of military might to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic of China.

The Chinese also displayed the modified DF-2C missile. The US Department of Defense has stated that China is developing a high hypersonic land-based anti-ship ballistic missile based on the DF-21, with a range of up to 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi).

These would combine manoeuvrable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) with some kind of satellite-based guidance system. Such a missile may have been tested in 2005-6, and the launch of the Jianbing-5/YaoGan-1 and Jianbing-6/YaoGan-2 satellites would give the Chinese targeting information from SAR and visual imaging respectively. The upgrades would allow China to employ the missile to destroy US Navy aircraft carriers.



source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21

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China may be able to target US Aircraft Carriers with ASBM

The Chinese Navy is becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea. This has caused concern for the U.S. Navy.

After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese that can target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.

First posted on a Chinese blog viewed and then translated by the US Navy, the blog described an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) that can strike carriers and other U.S. vessels at a range of 2000km (1080 nm).

The range of the modified Dong Feng 21(DF21) missile is significant since it can target areas that are likely hot zones for future confrontations between U.S. and Chinese naval surface forces.

The size of the missile enables it to carry a warhead big enough to inflict significant damage on a large vessel. The Chinese may have the capability to destroy a U.S. super carrier in one strike.

Because the missile employs a complex guidance system, low radar signature and a maneuverability that makes its flight path unpredictable, it may be able to counter tracking systems to reach its target. It is estimated that the missile can travel at mach 10 and reach its maximum range of 2000km in less than 12 minutes.

Supporting the missile is a network of satellites, radar and unmanned aerial vehicles that can locate U.S. ships and then guide the weapon, enabling it to hit moving targets.

The ASBM is said to be a modified DF-21

While the ASBM has been a topic of discussion within US defense circles for a while, the fact that Chinese sources are confirming the weapon system is operational is of great concern. The Chinese rarely mention weapons projects unless they being deployed.

This new system marks the first time a ballistic missile has been successfully developed to attack vessels at sea. US Ships currently have no defense against a ballistic missile attack.

After spending the last decade building a fleet that could operate in shallow waters near coastlines, the U.S. Navy seems to have quickly changed its strategy. It is now focused on improving the capabilities of its deep sea fleet and developing anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defenses.

Analyst Raymond Pritchett notes in a post on the U.S. Naval Institute blog:

"The Navy's reaction is telling, because it essentially equals a radical change in direction based on information that has created a panic inside the bubble. For a major military service to panic due to a new weapon system, clearly a mission kill weapon system, either suggests the threat is legitimate or the leadership of the Navy is legitimately unqualified. There really aren't many gray spaces in evaluating the reaction by the Navy…the data tends to support the legitimacy of the threat."

In recent years, China has been expanding its navy to control disputed maritime regions. A recent show of force in early March led to a confrontation with an unarmed U.S. ship in international waters.

http://chinaconfidential.blogspot.com/2009/03/china-kill-weapon-aimed-at-us-aircraft.html

www.usmessageboard.com/asia/76570-china-kill-weapon-aimed-at-us-aircraft-carriers.html