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China test fires new cruise missile called as 'dangerous' as ballistic missile
East-Asia-Intel.com, September 14, 2004

China has test fired a new land attack cruise missile (LACM) identified as the Dong Hai-10 (DH-10) or East China Sea-10.

A U.S. defense source identified the DH-10 as a ground launched second-generation land attack cruise missile having a range of more than 1,500 km. It is likely to be equipped with integrated inertial navigation system/global positioning system, terrain contour mapping, digital scene-matching area correlator having a circular error probability (CEP) of 10 meters.

Feng Dawei, a researcher at the No. 3 Research Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, announced on Aug. 16 that an unidentified missile had been successfully launched, according to the Chinese-language Zhongguo Xinwen She. The exact date of the test was not revealed.

The DH-10 is the second LACM that China is likely to field within the next few years. The other is the new Ying-ji-63 (YJ-63) or Strike Eagle-63.

According to the U.S. defense source, the YJ-63 is a first generation LACM with a range of 400-500 km and capable of carrying a 500-kg HE (high explosive) warhead. It will be launched and optically guided from the H-6 bomber. It will be limited by weather and line of sight, with a CEP of 10-15 meters. It is believed to have GPS-inertial measurement unit/electro-optical guidance.

The source also noted that Taiwan faces a serious threat from China's new HARPY Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Israel sold the system to China in 2001 and it is now operational. "Chinese HARPYs can suppress Taiwan SAM and radar sites for long duration by detecting, attacking and destroying radar targets with a very high hit accuracy."

All three platforms pose new challenges to Taiwan, which has been engaged in a long debate over defense issues focused mainly on China's tactical ballistic missile threat. "Taiwan has not met the growing LACM threat head on," the source said. "LACMs are as dangerous, if not more so, than conventional ballistic missiles. LACMs are at least twice as accurate, carry the same size warhead as a conventional ballistic missile and are generally one-third the cost of a ballistic missile," the source said.

Additionally, China has modified one of its Xian H-6 "Badger" bombers (81217) with four wing-mounted cruise missile pylons. Defense sources said China has the capability of converting up to 25 platforms, giving Beijing the potential of 100 air-launched cruise missiles to join the 200-300 SRBMs that would form the first wave of missiles launched at Taiwan. "Before too long, there will also be ship and sub-launched cruise missiles," a source said. The H-6 is a twinjet medium bomber based on the Russian Tu-16.

And beyond...

http://www.east-asia-intel.com/eai/