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Pictures have surfaced from China's internet supposedly showing a new derivative of the People's Liberation Air Force's Xian H-6 bomber. This incarnation of the H-6, dubbed the H-6N, is designed to carry one weapon in particular—the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. The base H-6 is itself a derivative of the Tu-16 Badger, a Soviet designed aircraft from the dawn of jet age that took its first flight 65 years ago. China started building the Tu-16 under license as the H-6 in 1959. Since then the country has evolved the H-6 design somewhat radically, using new building materials and techniques, advanced avionics...

China's surging military space program is poised to challenge U.S. aircraft carrier operations in the Pacific, as Chinese military spacecraft already gather significant new radar, electrooptical imaging, and signal intelligence data globally. During 2010, China more than doubled its military satellite launch rate to 12. This compares with three to five military missions launched each year between 2006 and 2009. Since 2006, China has launched about 30 military related spacecraft. Its total of 15 launches in 2010 set a new record for China and for the first time equaled the U.S. flight rate for a given year. Most U.S. public...

It looks like this is the week China’s military rapidly advancing military tech keeps getting the limelight . First, we saw pics of the Asian giant’s new stealth fighter. Now, it looks like China is one step closer to fielding ballistic missiles aimed at holding U.S. forces throughout the Pacific at bay. Adm. Robert Willard, the top U.S. officer in the Pacific said this week that China’s new DF-21D anti-ship balistic missiles, with their 900-mile range, have reached an early operational status. Apparently, the missiles, widely fretted over in Washington as one of the most serious threats to the United...

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION Hypersonic missile threat 'Carrier killers' could destroy U.S. Navy's supremacy at sea By: Tom Simko Posted: 01/8/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 In a replay of cold war rivalries, a new missile race is shaping up but this time America and Russia are joined by India and China. All of these countries are rushing to develop hypersonic anti-ship missiles that threaten to reshape naval warfare and alter global balances of power. It's all about who can design the fastest missiles with the latest engine technology. American Tomahawk cruise missiles are powered by conventional turbofans,...

China will have 2,000 missiles aimed at its rival Taiwan by the end of the year, several hundred more than the current number, despite fast-warming trade ties between the two sides, an island defense study said. Beijing's preparations setting Taiwan further back in the military power balance against its political adversary could destroy 90 percent of the island's infrastructure, the report published in the defense ministry's naval studies periodical said. The increase from today's estimate of 1,000 to 1,400 missiles could raise tensions after two years of upbeat dialogue between the rivals that has cleared the way for direct civilian...

On Sunday near Okinawa, the Japanese navy spotted two Chinese warships sailing south into the Pacific. The Chinese vessels were in international waters, but their proximity to Okinawa, which hosts a preponderance of U.S. and Japanese military forces, alarmed Tokyo. As a courtesy, navies traditionally announce their routine cruises in advance, particularly when one nation's ships might pass close to another's territory. Sunday's infraction of that protocol was not the first for China. Just three months prior, two Japanese warships patrolling around Okinawa had discovered an unannounced flotilla of at least 10 Chinese vessels, including two submarines. During the encounter,...

Chinese media reports that beginning today the People’ Liberation Army (PLA) will hold six days of military exercises in the East China Sea, a message, analysts say, to the U.S. Navy not to steam its carrier battle groups too close to Chinese shores. While a Chinese military official said the drills are routine, observers say the anti-carrier exercise is intended to pressure the U.S. Navy not to hold joint exercises with the carrier USS George Washington and South Korean ships in the Yellow Sea. Respected China analyst Andrew Erickson says the live fire training aims to demonstrate China’s ability to...

The chatter in China, and military deployments, indicate that the leadership believes they are now able to take Taiwan by force, before the United States can intervene. Such an attack would have to be without warning, because the United States would put forces in the way if there was any indication that an invasion was imminent. This development comes as no surprise to those who have been watching military and political developments in China and Taiwan during the past two decades. At the end of the Cold War, China had three million troops on active duty, but their weapons, warships...

China most likely conducted its January 2007 anti-satellite weapon test in the Kuerle region of western Xinjiang province, according to a report by the Kanwa Asian Defense news service. The service reported June 1 that “reconnaissance satellite intelligence” identified “facilities that have appeared to the South of Kuerle.” Large phased array radar antenna are located in a desert region to the south of Kuerle. The two phased array radar are similar to the Arrow II ballistic missile interception system designed by Israel, the report said. Additionally, China’s Second Artillery, which is in charge of all missiles, has a missile test...

Chinese officials were quick to respond to the recent Indian success in getting their Agni III ballistic missile into active service. This came about after the fourth test of the fifty ton, two stage, solid fuel missile. Agni III has a range of 3,500 kilometers and was built to reach targets in China. Chinese officials pointed out that India was, with the Agni III, still at least a decade behind China in the long range ballistic missiles department. The Chinese introduced the DF-21 in 1999. This missile has a range of over 1,800 kilometers and can haul a 300 kiloton...