Posted on 07/04/2005 6:42:30 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
/begin my translation
Taiwan Develop a Cruise Missile Which Can Strike Mainland's Coastal Area Within Range
It reports that, at the end of the last month(June, 2005,) Taiwan's Zhong-shan Science Institute completed OT&E of Hsiung-feng 2E at Jiu-peng base, Ping-dong. OT&E is to test an weapon system in a battlefield condition and evaluate its result in order to determine its operational efficiency and feasibility.
Hsiung-feng 2E, a subsonic attack missile, is the upgraded version of ship-to-ship missile Hsiung-feng 2 whose range is 150 km(93.2 mile.) It has the range of 500km(310.7 mile,) which has provinces, cities, and major military targets in Chinese east coast within its effective range .
In recent OT&E, it successfully hit a target 500km away, and it can hit within 12m(39.4 ft) radius of the target. They planned to extend its effective range to 1,000km(621.4 mile,) which makes it a major threat to the mainland(China.)
Hsiung-feng 2E will be deployed to the Air defense Command directly under Staffs Headquarter, which is equivalent to China's 2nd Artillery Corps (missile units.)
Ping!
Eh, not so much. What will really worry China is when Taiwan develops cruise or ballistic missiles that can hit Beijing.
Taiwan should be given (or develop) some advanced rocketry in the range of 2500 miles - and be nuclearized.
Should war be imminent...a back channel message from the ROC to the PRC that the ROC is nuclear capable, IMHO would significantly slow down Beijing's efforts and intentions.
Indeed. Communist leaders have a history of caring only about themselves. I doubt a single one of them would lose a second of sleep about loss of life along the coast. It is more than likely they would look on it as fewer mouths to feed.
Given Taiwan's experience in developing missiles for sometime now,I don't think it would be impossible to modify it for aircraft like the Mirage-2005 & F-16,theoritically putting Beijing in range.Submarine launch is another attractive option esp for Chinese naval facilities though Taiwan doesn't have enough subs.Launch from most landbased facilities barring mobile launchers isn;t a good idea.Even the Chinese know that & they are modifying their new cruise missiles like the YJ-63 for sea & airbased platforms like the H-6 & JH-7 bombers.
600 cruise missles would ruin the day of any invasion fleet.
Exactly so. You have to remember that the Chinese do not value life as we do. A couple of wiped-out coastal cities would merit a shrug from the Politburo.
Life has been cheap in Asia for centuries.
Only if Taiwan can hit Beijing. Otherwise, it won't slow them down at all.
I suspect Taiwan already has one or more nuclear weapons. Like Israel, they don't advertise the fact.
Heh heh heh...interesting the things that pop out of the countryside here.
Taiwan has no sub platforms for such a missle.
Dude...respectfully...this type of thinking is no longer relevant. It has been around since the Boxer Rebellion and is now compltely out-dated. China, and all of Asia, regard it people as a resource. And it knows that any strike that would take out personell would also be a devaststing blow to physical as well as intellectual property.
My relatives that fled Hong Kong in 1996 would respectfully disagree with you.
As do I.
Id base my statement on a hunch that these weapons can be launched from subs.Afterall,they are derived from an existing anti-ship missile,which would make it capable of launch from 533 MM torpedo tubes,after minor modifications,like the Tomahawk or Harpoon.Taiwan has only 4 subs,out of which 2 are relatively modern,combat worthy Dutch built vessels.Those could in theory be modified to carry these cruise missiles-though a number of factors will prevent that from being attempted.
Well,Id assume that the most valuable pieces of real estate in the PRC are now in Shanghai & being a port,it's much closer to Taiwan.You are probably right that Chinese leaders won't mind losing other targets,but Shanghai is becoming the equivalent of New York for the PRC's leadership & any weapon which can threaten that city,will potentially destabilise the Chinese economy.
To the country struggling with overpopulation and resorting to "one child" policy your considerations do not apply.
Hopefully they are working with Israel to develop the best technology possible.
The first Hseung Feng anti-ship missiles were copies of the Israeli Gabriel missile.Taiwan & Israel were pretty much in cahoots till the early 80s,when Israel(like Europe & the US) saw that China could be a more lucrative client.Besides,Taiwan has achieved a pretty impressive tech base over the years.
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