[Enterprise]

The Chinese affectionately dub their Carrier Killers the “Bill Clinton Cigar.”

[Venturer]

Large carriers are now large targets.

Wonder why China is building another one.

Theirs is also a target.

[G Larry]

Very clever to have conned the Chinese into wasting all of that money.

Obama has no intention of defending Taiwan, or anybody else in the South Pacific.

[KarlInOhio]

DF-21D ballistic missile

Very unlikely to be a "ballistic" missile if it is meant to be aimed at a ship unless it is one in port. Ballistic means that it just follows the path of gravity rather than being able to guided to its target. You won't have a chance to get a direct hit on a ship at sea unless it is traveling at a constant speed and direction for the entire time it takes to target, launch and fly the missile without some type of terminal guidance.

[Pan_Yan]

The basic DF-21 is a 15 ton, two stage, solid fuel missile that is 10.7 meters (35 feet) long and 140cm (4.6 feet) in diameter.

Probably won't see a pickup mounted version any time soon.

[FreeAtlanta]

At that weight and coming down as fast as it does, would it even need to carry a warhead? Hit one of our flat tops and punch a hole all the way to the sea. That is a terrifying thought.

I am imagining what happens with entry and exit wounds. The damage would be horrific.

Can our flat tops be equipped with a large deflection plates? Maybe have a second deck that can be quickly raised up at at sharp angle to deflect the ballistic bullet off and into the sea?

[Joe Brower]

Another bit of good news about our friends across the Pacific.

[bmwcyle]

bttt

[MasterGunner01]

The DF-21D is a maneuvering anti-ship ballistic missile with a variable yield nuclear warhead. With a nuke, close enough is good enough. That is why the Navy is looking at a defensive laser ABM system.

[Travis McGee]

ChiPing

It might be just a little harder to hit a moving carrier than a rectangle painted in the Gobi Desert. Assuming the carrier is warned and is maneuvering.

[0.E.O]

Until recently there was no evidence that the complete DF-21D system had been tested. But recently satellite photos showed a 200 meter long white rectangle in the Gobi Desert (in Western China) with two large craters in it.

Hitting a stationary target with a ballistic missile isn't that hard when you know where it is. Hitting a moving target...?

[ßuddaßudd]

Wonder if they will demonstrate this new weapon on a Japanese vessel anytime soon?

[matthew fuller]

This is supposedly their new carrier-

http://beforeitsnews.com/china/2013/02/new-chinese-aircraft-carriers-quantum-leaps-ahead-of-us-we-can-thank-walmart-and-outsourcing-american-labor-for-financing-it-2445430.html

[Rebelbase]

“But recently satellite photos showed a 200 meter long white rectangle in the Gobi Desert (in Western China) with two large craters in it”

That rules out the Gobi as an operational carrier area.