China Tests Missile-Interception System, A new challenge to India and the US
New Delhi: China has carried out a test of “ground-based midcourse anti-missile intercept technology” that “achieved its expected purpose”, the Defense Ministry of China on Monday said. China has given few details about its own missile programs, aside from occasional brief statements by the defense ministry or in state media.
The test is of defensive nature and is not aimed at any country, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.
China argued the equipment’s powerful radar could penetrate into its territory. China and Russia have also held simulated anti-missile drills. Beijing says such technology is needed for national defense and security.
Chinese media has said that “China has conducted anti-missile system tests since at least 2010. Beijing has tested missile interceptors before; the most recent previous public announcement of a test was in February 2021, and before that in 2018.”
China has been ramping up research into all sorts of missiles, from those that can destroy satellites in space to advanced nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, as part of a modernization overseen by President Xi Jinping.
According to China-based analysts, Intercepting an intercontinental ballistic missile during its mid-course is very challenging because during this phase, the missile, usually equipped with nuclear warheads, travels high outside of the atmosphere at a very high velocity.
It is technically easy to intercept a ballistic missile in the boost phase because the missile is still close to the ground and accelerating, but it is difficult to get close to the launch site which is usually deep in hostile territory. In the terminal phase, the interception is also challenging because the speed of the diving missile is very high, the experts added.
(Vinayak)
