Archive for ‘ballistic missiles’

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04/05/2020

China’s long-range Xian H-20 stealth bomber could make its debut this year

  • Beijing ‘carefully considering’ unveiling the plane at the Zhuhai Airshow in November at a time of heightened regional tension
  • H-20 will give China the nuclear triad of submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers
An artist’s impression of what the H-20 may look like. Photo: Weibo
An artist’s impression of what the H-20 may look like. Photo: Weibo
China’s new generation strategic bomber is likely to be ready for delivery this year, but Beijing is said to be weighing the impact of its unveiling at a complex time in regional relations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Military sources said the Xian H-20 supersonic stealth bomber – expected to double the country’s strike range – could make its first public appearance at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow in November, if the pandemic was sufficiently under control.
“The Zhuhai Airshow is expected to become a platform to promote China’s image and its success in pandemic control – telling the outside world that the contagion did not have any big impacts on Chinese defence industry enterprises,” a source said.
But the appearance of the bomber at this year’s air show could heighten tensions by directly threatening countries within its strike range, especially Australia, Japan and the Korean peninsula.
Thrilling aerobatics fill the skies to open air show in central China
“The Beijing leadership is still carefully considering whether its commission will affect regional balance, especially as regional tensions have been escalating over the Covid-19 pandemic,” another source said.
“Like intercontinental ballistic missiles, all strategic bombers can be used for delivering nuclear weapons … if China claimed it had pursued a national defence policy which is purely defensive in nature, why would it need such an offensive weapon?”
Tensions in the region have worsened in the past month with a war of words between Beijing and Washington over the pandemic, and both sides increasing naval patrols.
The US defence department has estimated a cruising distance of more than 8,500km (5,300 miles) for the H-20, the last in China’s 20 series of new generation warplanes, which includes the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the Y-20 giant transporter and the Z-20 medium-lift utility helicopter.

The arrival of the H-20 would mark the completion of China’s “nuclear triad” of ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and air-launched weapons.

An H-6K bomber, or China’s B-52, flies over the South China Sea. Photo: AP
An H-6K bomber, or China’s B-52, flies over the South China Sea. Photo: AP
Chinese state television has said the H-20 could alter the strategic calculus between the US and China by doubling the strike range of its current H-6K, dubbed the country’s B-52.

The H-20 has reportedly been designed to strike targets beyond the second island ring – which includes US bases in Japan, Guam, the Philippines and other countries – from bases in mainland China. The third island chain extends to Hawaii and coastal Australia.

It will be equipped with nuclear and conventional missiles with a maximum take-off weight of at least 200 tonnes and a payload of up to 45 tonnes. The bomber is expected to fly at subsonic speeds and could potentially unleash four powerful hypersonic stealth cruise missiles.

However, like China’s first active stealth fighter jet, the J-20, engine development of the H-20 bomber has fallen behind schedule, according to sources.

For the J-20, engineers were developing high-thrust turbofan WS-15 engines, but the jet is understood to be using either Chinese WS-10B or Russian-built AL-31FM2/3 engines, which compromise its manoeuvrability and stealth capabilities at subsonic speeds.

Military enthusiasts have speculated the H-20 might use the NK-321 Russian engine but two independent military sources said it would be equipped with an upgraded WS-10 engine.

“The WS-10 is still a transitional engine for the H-20 because it is not powerful enough. The eligible replacement may take two to three years for development,” one of the sources said.

China must meet air force demand for J-20 stealth jets, say analysts

17 Feb 2020

The second said the speed of the H-20 would be slower than its original design, with some of its original combat capability being reduced.

“That’s why the American air force doesn’t care about the H-20, because it is not strong and powerful enough to cause any challenge to their B-2 and B-21 bombers.”

If the US decided to deploy more F-35 supersonic fighter jets – it has already sold about 200 to Japan and South Korea – it could push China to bring forward the unveiling of the new bomber, the second source said.

“For example, if some US decision makers decided to deploy up to 500 F-35s to Japan, South Korea, and even Singapore, India and Taiwan – making almost all of China’s neighbours in the Indo-Pacific region use F-35s to contain China – that would pushBeijing to launch the H-20 as soon as possible.”

The H-20 is believed to have been in development since the early 2000s. The project to develop a strategic bomber was first announced by the People’s Liberation Army in 2016.

Source: SCMP

Posted in 2016, Aerobatics, air-launched weapons, Australia, B-52, ballistic missiles, Beijing, bombers, China’s, considering, Coronavirus pandemic, Covid-19 pandemic, debut, F-35 supersonic fighter jets, ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, Guam, H-6K bomber, Hawaii, heightened, India, Indo-Pacific region, intercontinental, J-20 stealth fighter, Japan, Korean peninsula, long-range, neighbours, November, nuclear triad, nuclear weapons, People’s Liberation Army, Philippines, plane, regional tension, Singapore, South China Sea, South Korea, stealth bomber, submarine-launched missiles, submarines, Taiwan, this year, Uncategorized, unveiling, US defence department, Xian H-20, Y-20 giant transporter, Z-20 medium-lift utility helicopter, Zhuhai Airshow | Leave a Comment »

17/02/2019

China says no to Germany’s call for arms control deal with US and Russia

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes appeal to Beijing at Munich Security Conference as Washington prepares to leave INF treaty
  • But China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi says nation’s missiles are defensive, do not pose a threat
Chinea’s top envoy Yang Jiechi chats to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at the Munich Security Conference. Photo: AP
Chinea’s top envoy Yang Jiechi chats to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas at the Munich Security Conference. Photo: AP

China on Saturday rejected German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s appeal to join a cold war-era arms control treaty that the United States accuses Russia of breaching, saying it would place unfair limits on its military.

Fearing a nuclear arms race between China, Russia and the US after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which the US is withdrawing from, Merkel made her call for a global treaty.

“Disarmament is something that concerns us all and we would of course be glad if such talks were held not just between the United States, Europe and Russia but also with China,” she told the Munich Security Conference.

Is China about to abandon its ‘no first use’ nuclear weapons policy?

Russia and the United States are the signatories to the 1987 INF treaty that bans land-based missiles with a range between 500km (310 miles) and 5,500km, and which US President Donald Trump started the six-month withdrawal from this month, blaming Russian violations.

Moscow denies any wrongdoing, but the US and its Nato allies want Russia to destroy its 9M729 nuclear-capable cruise missile system, which Washington says could allow Russia to strike Europe with almost no warning.

Merkel’s suggestion of involving China in a negotiation is seen by European Nato diplomats as a potential way out of the impasse because a new treaty could address American concerns about a growing military threat from China and Russia.

“China develops its capabilities strictly according to its defensive needs and doesn’t pose a threat to anybody else. So we are opposed to the multilateralisation of the INF,” he said.

China’s stated ambition is to modernise its People’s Liberation Army by 2035, improve its air force and push into new technologies including very high speed cruise missiles and artificial intelligence.

Its defence budget grew nearly 6 per cent between 2017 and 2018, according to the London-based International Institute for Security Studies.

Chinese scientists make progress on nuclear submarine communication

Retired Chinese general Yao Yunzhu told delegates a new arms control agreement would only work if it included sea- and air-launched missiles, as well as land, because most of China’s military technology was ground-based and the country would not want to put itself at a disadvantage.

Cheaper to build, more mobile and easier to hide, ground-based rocket launchers are an attractive option for China as it develops its armed forces, experts said, whereas the United States operates more costly sea-based systems to comply with the INF.

“China is traditionally a land power and the Chinese military is a ground force,” Yao said.

“If China is to enter into these kinds of negotiations, I think it ought to be more comprehensive to include not only land-based but also air and sea-based strike capabilities … and that would be hugely complicated,” she said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in Angela Merkel, arms control, ballistic missiles, China alert, Disarmament, Europe, German Chancellor, Germany, global treaty, INF, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, multi-lateralisation, Munich Security Conference, President Donald Trump, Russia, sea- and air-launched missiles, Uncategorized, US, Washington, Yang Jiechi, Yao Yunzhu | Leave a Comment »

02/02/2019

Next stop Guam? China shows off its next generation DF-41 and DF-26 ballistic missiles

  • Beijing announces second-strike exercise involving an ICBM capable of hitting any point on the US or Russian mainland
  • State broadcaster releases first ever footage of ‘Guam killer’ DF-26 intermediate-range missile in action
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 02 February, 2019, 7:01pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 02 February, 2019, 7:01pm

COMMENTS: 4 

China’s ballistic missile technology is advancing rapidly and recent demonstrations of its capabilities leave little doubt that when it comes to military dominance in the Asia-Pacific region, Beijing is keen to send a message to Washington that the United States is not the only player in town.

Last month, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) showed off its firepower by running a simulated strike mission using a Dongfeng-41 (DF-41) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and revealing footage of the improved stability of Dongfeng-26 (DF-26) ballistic missile.

Chinese missile drill tests ‘ultimate symbol of PLA destructive potential’

DF-41: China’s ultimate nuclear deterrent

With its capability to deliver a nuclear warhead almost anywhere in the world, the DF-41 is China’s most advanced ICBM and has been the subject of intense speculation by Western analysts for the past decade.

At 16.5 metres (54 feet) it is slightly longer than its predecessor, the DF-31A, and with a range of up to 15,000km (9,320 miles) it not only flies further than either of its main rivals – the United States’ LGM-30 Minuteman (13,000km) and Russia’s RT-2PM2 Topol-M (11,000km) – but is capable of striking any part of the Russian or US mainland.

The fourth-generation missile has a top speed of Mach 25 (25 times the speed of sound) and as a “multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle” can carry at least 10 warheads, each of which can be aimed at a different target.

The DF-41 can be fired from a silo-based platform or a road- or rail-based mobile launcher. The latter makes it more able to evade attack and in turn increases its value as a deterrent.

Song Zhongping, a missile expert and former officer with the PLA’s Second Artillery Force, said that the recent reports released by state media that Beijing had run a simulation of a second-strike against an “imaginary enemy” from an underground facility, showed the DF-41 was already in service.

A second-strike is a response to a nuclear attack with an equally powerful force.

While the location of the deployment is unknown it is widely thought to have been somewhere in northeast China, close to the Russian border.

https://widgets.scmp.com/video/video_iframe.php?id=7s5e4b&poster=https%3A//cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/video/images/2019/01/29/thumbnail_web_text.jpg

DF-26: The ‘Guam killer’

The DF-26 is China’s next generation intermediate-range ballistic missile and takes its nickname from the fact its range – of 3,000km to 5,740km – puts the US island of Guam in the western Pacific and American military bases in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean within striking distance.

Operated by the PLARF, the solid-fuel missile system can be carried on a 12-wheeled Taian transporter erector launcher truck. This makes it difficult for US intelligence services to track and counter, either with their sea-based Aegis missile defences or, as on Guam, the long-range THAAD anti-missile interceptors.

Capable of carrying two types of nuclear warheads and many types of conventional ones – with a payload of 1,200kg (2,650lbs) to 1,800kg – the 14-metre-long missile can also be used for anti-ship strikes, such as US aircraft carriers and naval bases in the Asia-Pacific region.

China releases footage of ‘Guam killer’ DF-26 ballistic missile in ‘clear message to the US’

China’s defence ministry confirmed last year that the DF-26 had entered service, and amid growing military tensions with Taiwan and the US, state broadcaster CCTV last month released the first ever footage of a DF-26 launch.

At least one missile was used in an exercise in northwest China and the four finlike flight control surfaces seen around its nose appear to have been designed to improve its stability.

Military analysts said the fins would provide greater stability as the missile neared a moving target, such as an aircraft carrier.

Source: SCMP

Posted in ballistic missiles, China alert, DF-26, DF-41, Guam, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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