TOKYO -- China has confirmed that it has tested a new anti-ship
missile as more information surfaced on its state-of-the-art laser weapons with the capability to intercept
incoming missiles as part of its Theater Missile Defense development
program.
The Xinhua news agency reported that China tested a new anti-ship
missile in an offshore shoting range. No further details were available.
China conducted a test in late August of a new laser weapon with a
capability to shoot down missiles. The test was conducted in the low-density
atmosphere of the mountainous Qinghai -Tibet plateau, the Hong Kong-based
Standard reported.
The tests are usually conducted in Inner Mongolia but in an unsuitable
environment, atmospheric interference can sometimes weaken the laser,
crippling its destructive power. The laser weapon can cause the temperature
to rise in the missile which renders the homing device useless, causing the
missile to drop or deviate from its intended path.
The Standard reported that the test was successful and Beijing is now
capable of using laser weapons to intercept 20 to 50 percent of incoming
missiles flying at low altitudes.
China has opposed a joint U.S.-Japan proposal to establish a TMD system
in East Asia. China has already warned the United States that such a system
would destabilize the region and spark a new arms race.
The United States is developing an airborne laser defense capacity but
has encountered problems of generating sufficient power to keep the system
in operation during a major attack.
The Pentagon is also developing an airborne laser missile but Pentagon
officials say the technology will only be operable during the next decade.
The new technology is designed to enable an airborne laser missile to pierce
a miniscule hole in a missile in its launch stage in enemy territory,
causing the missile to explode spreading its payload on the ground,
especially lethal if the missile was carrying a nuclear, chemical or
biological, warhead.
