China has developed its own version of the Patriot anti-missile system, according to a Chinese-owned Hong Kong newspaper.
The ground-to-air guided missile system is part of China's air shield that is similar to U.S. Patriot missiles, the March 29 Wen Wei Po reported.
China covertly obtained Patriot anti-missile system technology from Israel during the 1990s, according to U.S. officials.
U.S. intelligence agencies discovered the Israel-China Patriot technology transfer in March 1993.
The transfers came from U.S.-made Patriots sent to Israel to counter Iraqi missile attacks during the Persian Gulf war.
The report described the system's command and control system, vehicles and interceptors.
In 1993, then-CIA Director Robert Gates told The Washington Times, “There is some indication that they [the Chinese] have some of the technology.”
