Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Chinese missile has twice the range U.S. anticipated
The Washington Times ^ | November 20, 2002 | Bill Gertz

Posted on 11/20/2002 5:41:48 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen

Edited on 07/12/2004 3:59:05 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

China recently test-fired a new cruise missile with twice the range U.S. intelligence agencies initially estimated, intelligence officials say. The test comes as Chinese Communist officials last week appointed a top general in charge of China's missile buildup to a new post within the leadership that runs the military.


(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 next last
To: Stand Watch Listen
LINKS OF INTEREST:

NewsMax.com: "PLA NAVY OBTAINS NEW-GENERATION SUBMARINES" by Dr. Alexandr Nemets (112102)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "CHINA MISSILE HAS TWICE THE RANGE U.S. ANTICIPATED" by Bill Gertz (112002)

INSIGHT On The News online: "CHINA EYES U.S. PORTS" by J. Michael Waller (111802)

BERNAMA.COM - MALAYSIA NATIONAL NEWS AGENCY: "ISLAM IS DEEP-ROOTED IN CHINA" by Mohd Shukri Ishak (ARTICLE NOTE: There are 22 million Muslim people and 30,000 mosques in China.) (111502)

CHARISMA NEWS.com: PERSECUTION WATCH: "CHINA" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "In the weeks leading to the party congress, which began last Friday, the government has banned books, blocked Internet sites and clamped down on other activists. China allows only government-monitored churches, and has harassed and imprisoned Christians who worship outside the official system.") (111102)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "CONGRESSIONAL WATCHDOG TO PROBE CHINESE SEC RELATIONS" by Bill Gertz (111202)

WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "SEC AIDE QUITS AFTER LEAK TO CHINESE" by Bill Gertz (ARTICLE NOTE: The former Securities and Exchange Commission aide is identified as Mylene Chan, a Chinese national.) (111102)

THE TIMES OF INDIA (AFP): "CHINA TO UNVEIL TOP SECRET WARPLANE" (ARTICLE NOTE: The warplane is an F-10 aka J-10 aka Jian-10 Fighter.) (110502)

NewsMax.com - Hot Topics: "CHINA/TAIWAN"

SOFTWAR.net Online

FREEREPUBLIC.com - Discussion Threads - Search Term: "PANAMA CANAL"

CONSERVATIVE USA.com: PANAMA CANAL

PANAMA CANAL.com: THE PANAMA CANAL - MIRAFLORES WEB CAM"

21 posted on 11/22/2002 3:30:15 PM PST by Cindy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
They can have their missles, I suspect we'll be using high energy lasers on ships very soon, if we aren't already. Plenty of extra power on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The next generation of warefare will be tilted to those with the most modern of weapons and supersonic missles won't cut the mustard.
22 posted on 11/22/2002 3:39:09 PM PST by RockyMtnMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
Take in mind the missle may reach mach 3 (around 2100mph) a laser travels at 180,000ft per second per second.
23 posted on 11/22/2002 3:43:04 PM PST by RockyMtnMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: RockyMtnMan
Take in mind the missle may reach mach 3 (around 2100mph) a laser travels at 180,000ft per second per second.

It's not accelerating at 5,625 gees--it's traveling at a straight 186Kmiles/sec.

However, lasers aren't necessarily the decisive element here--instead, it's things like Cooperative Engagement Capability.

Who cares if the aircraft carrier isn't able to fire a laser at the missile if one of the Aegis cruisers can splash the missile before it breaks the 100-mile circle?

24 posted on 11/22/2002 3:47:47 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
I stand corrected, I should have looked up my numbers.

Image the advantage we would have in a battlefield scenerio where we have a dozen airborne lasers circling a "containment zone". The enemy would be denied the ability to put ANYTHING into the sky, missles, aircraft, perhaps even satellites. To my knowledge we are further along in this area than any country in the world.

Airborne Lasers

25 posted on 11/22/2002 3:56:48 PM PST by RockyMtnMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: RockyMtnMan
Image the advantage we would have in a battlefield scenerio where we have a dozen airborne lasers circling a "containment zone". The enemy would be denied the ability to put ANYTHING into the sky, missles, aircraft, perhaps even satellites. To my knowledge we are further along in this area than any country in the world.

Uh...actually, the enemy would simply need more than a dozen SAMs. While the ABLs are engaging the first salvo of SAMs directed at them, the enemy launches another salvo.

The ABL is, like the AWACS and JSTARS, a "High Value Airframe" or HVA, and it will have to be properly protected.

26 posted on 11/22/2002 3:59:03 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
In the short term yes, once a solid state equivilent is created the rate of fire could easily keep pace. Another strategy is to increase the wattage and refract the laser to mulitple targets.
27 posted on 11/22/2002 5:17:12 PM PST by RockyMtnMan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
But we need them to become a democracy before they develop the weapons to kill us.

In your world, making China a democracy will prevent them from 'killing us?'

Something special about a democracy?

FOLLOW THE MONEY.

If this country has resources China wants, whether they are democratic or not (or even republican, as is the USA) they will come and get it. If we don't sell it, they will get it by other means.

They might even VOTE before commencing action.

28 posted on 11/22/2002 7:20:58 PM PST by ninenot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: hchutch
What about their knockoff of the W88 on top of their version of the ICBM with MIRV, guided by Hughes and Motorola?

(They HAVE all that, you know.)

One for L.A., and another for SFO--and that's just from their mainland.

Now, with their patty-cake friendship with Iran, they could also make a mess of London (if the Iranian government holds against the coming rebellion.)

NOW what?

29 posted on 11/22/2002 7:26:50 PM PST by ninenot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
China is no longer communist

My ass...!

30 posted on 11/22/2002 7:29:07 PM PST by freebilly
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
They bought or stole much of the sophisticated technology, but it's practically inevitable that they will develop advanced missile and space technology.

With Motorola, Intel, Microsoft and other high tech companies setting up R&D facilities in China it is only a matter of time that they will be technologically superior to us. Especially when these companies are retreating from doing any R&D in America.

31 posted on 11/22/2002 7:41:25 PM PST by blueriver
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: ninenot; hchutch
What about their knockoff of the W88 on top of their version of the ICBM with MIRV, guided by Hughes and Motorola?

One for L.A., and another for SFO--and that's just from their mainland.

A rather silly scenario. The US response would turn mainland China into a smoking, glowing, irradiated ruin. BTW, right now, ALL of the missiles would have to come from the Chinese mainland. Please note that the Chinese SSBN has not sailed in quite some time, and that they are buying imported submarines in large numbers despite some very intense efforts to build home-grown designs. If they can't build a competent diesel-electric boat, it's rather likely that they won't be able to build a nuclear attack boat or a boomer.

More to the point, they have a perfectly serviceable ICBM for accomplishing that mission today. It's old, it's liquid-fueled, and it uses an absolutely huge warhead--5 megatons--but it would do the job rather nicely. Using a W-88 for city-busting is extremely wasteful--and the precision manufacturing know-how and facilities that go into making a W-88 (which has a very high yield-to-weight ratio, and is accurate enough for destroying hardened targets like ICBM silos) are not readily available in China. It would be rather akin to the United States building a passenger-carrying model of the B-2 for the commercial aviation industry--a fabulously wasteful exercise.

32 posted on 11/22/2002 7:41:36 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
Invite them to join the International Space Station consortium. Give them the respect and approval that they deserve for their economic progress and let free market capitalism do the rest. Their economy is already effecting their political system. Be patient and draw them in close. That would be the ultimate diss for Bilbous and Hilarious! Think of the irony. They would be the only commies in a capitalist world!!
33 posted on 11/22/2002 7:45:42 PM PST by Young Werther
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
Taiwan.

They have STATED that they will smoke LA if we get into their way on Taiwan.

And since when have dictators given a loud fart about the rabble? Those guys will be long burrowed into their hardened safe spots, and the USA will NOT incinerate all of China. We have more respect for rules of war than that...

Look: you and I know that there's the plan, and then there's what went wrong on the way to the plan's end. You and I also know that in war, about everything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.

Some nutso in PRC might just push the button. Do you really think GWB would turn all of the PRC into a lava lake?
34 posted on 11/22/2002 8:06:48 PM PST by ninenot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
Well, they stole the damn W88 for a reason--what's your guess??
35 posted on 11/22/2002 8:07:39 PM PST by ninenot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: ninenot
They have STATED that they will smoke LA if we get into their way on Taiwan.

When they were dealing with a known pantywaist. There's a new sheriff in town.

And China does not have the forces needed to take Taiwan. They do not have the lift capacity to get the troops across the Taiwan Strait.

And since when have dictators given a loud fart about the rabble?

Well, if they want to spend their sunset years never seeing daylight or open sky, that's their problem.

Those guys will be long burrowed into their hardened safe spots, and the USA will NOT incinerate all of China. We have more respect for rules of war than that...

Oh, really?

Trust me, the President that tries to show that much respect for the rules of war after two of America's largest cities get nuked will have two problems: (1) dealing with a Congress that wants to impeach him and (2) avoiding the lynch mobs long enough to see if he got convicted in the Senate.

Look: you and I know that there's the plan, and then there's what went wrong on the way to the plan's end. You and I also know that in war, about everything that CAN go wrong, WILL go wrong.

The Chinese ain't stupid and they ain't crazy. They also don't have the ability to get to Taiwan. They really don't have an option to invade Siberia--the Russians might decide to get rid of some START II restricted weapons by means of live-fire :o)

Some nutso in PRC might just push the button.

The ChiCom command and control system requires more than one guy to push the button. Seems the Party worries that the Army might get a wee bit uppity if they can shoot off the nukes by themselves.

Do you really think GWB would turn all of the PRC into a lava lake?

After two cities with a total population of 10,000,000 get nuked? If he doesn't push the button under those circumstances, he's dead--be it figuratively or literally.

36 posted on 11/22/2002 8:30:01 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: ninenot
Well, they stole the damn W88 for a reason--what's your guess??

Probably the same reason Ivan stole everything he could lay his hands on--and then discovered that he couldn't build it in anything resembling quantity when he tried to copy it.

37 posted on 11/22/2002 8:31:11 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Poohbah
The Chinese ain't stupid and they ain't crazy. They also don't have the ability to get to Taiwan. They really don't have an option to invade Siberia--

Agreed they are not stupid and they are not crazy.

Do they play those 'missile' games near Taiwan just to keep our planners up all night?

As to Siberia: China will take that area, if they want it, by occupying Russia on the south through proxies like the Chechens, but far more numerous and with many more points of attack.

The Russkis will be too busy in the South to pay much attention to Siberia, and too damn worn out to open Front Two after knocking off the Chechen-esque ploy.

And I don't think the Russkis will nuke their OWN land--they want the oil, too!

38 posted on 11/22/2002 9:04:03 PM PST by ninenot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: ninenot
Do they play those 'missile' games near Taiwan just to keep our planners up all night?

You've obviously never read Suz Tzu or Mao. That's exactly what they are doing.

You're falling prey to the "ooh, they have missiles" ploy. They don't have enough sealift to put boots on the ground.

Read T.R. Fehrenbach's This Kind of War to understand why infantry is important.

As to Siberia: China will take that area, if they want it, by occupying Russia on the south through proxies like the Chechens, but far more numerous and with many more points of attack.

I have to disagree with your analysis of the Chechens as proxies of the Chicoms--the Chinese have their own Moose Limb problem, and they're not dumb enough to nurse a brood of vipers right next door to that problem. It's many times more stupid than our playing footsie with the mujihadeen in Afghanistan during the 1980s.

The Russkis will be too busy in the South to pay much attention to Siberia, and too damn worn out to open Front Two after knocking off the Chechen-esque ploy.

The Russians will NOT tolerate any Chinese move on Siberia or the Maritime Provinces. Period. Second, if the Chinese do try to move, the Russians are likely to just nuke the Chechens, THEN nuke the Chinese.

And I don't think the Russkis will nuke their OWN land--they want the oil, too!

Of course they won't nuke Siberia. They'll nuke northern Manchuria instead. Gosh, it's awfully hard to sustain an invasion of China when all of the railroads supporting the invasion just kinda evaporate...

39 posted on 11/22/2002 9:16:02 PM PST by Poohbah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
China is no longer communist
Excuse me???? What are you talking about, they most certainly are communist.
40 posted on 11/22/2002 9:20:55 PM PST by Libertina
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson