For sale: China´s new cruise missile - Wendell Minnick

Wendell Minnick

Some might be focused on China´s growth as a military power, just along comes its ability to sell weaponry on the international market. Defense analyst Wendell Minnick notes in Defense News a new cruise missile in its arsenal.

Wendell Minnick:

The new CM-708UNA submarine-launched cruise missile made its debut at Airshow China in Zhuhai, in the southern province of Guangdong near Hong Kong, on Tuesday. 

The 128-kilometer range missile is the product of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), which also makes unmanned aerial vehicles and land-attack/anti-ship cruise missiles. A CASIC official at the display said the missile is in production. 

The CM-708UNA is launched by torpedo tube and is applicable for various submarines for targeting medium-to-large ships and inshore targets. The missile uses a strap-down inertial navigation system plus satellite navigation, a high-precision radar seeker and digital control. The missile is powered by a turbo engine and solid rocket booster.

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Taiwan to mass produce cruise missiles - Wendell Minnick

A Tomahawk cruise missile  via Wikipedia

Taiwan is preparing for a mass production of two kinds of cruise missiles to set off against the perceived threat from the mainland, writes defense expert Wendell Minnick in Defense News. The US has been trying, for now in vain, to kill the program.

Taiwan's Deputy Defense Minister Chao Shih-chang told legislators on Nov. 8 that production for the two missiles [ of the Hsiung Feng 2E (HF-2E) land attack cruise missile (LACM) and the Hsiung Feng 3 (HF-3) anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM)] had already begun. Chao made the comments during questioning by the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and Defense Committee. In response to a question about the missiles by legislator Lin Yu-fang of the ruling party Kuomintang (KMT), Chao said the programs, code-named the Chichun (Lance Hawk) and Chuifeng (Chasing Wind), were "progressing smoothly."...

China continues to deploy more short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and new cruise missiles along its coast targeting Taiwan. The only alternative is to deploy a counter response to that threat, he said. China currently has roughly 1,300 to 1,500 SRBMs aimed at the island. Taiwan has no offensive missile capability, [according to an official with the Ministry of National Defense (MND)]

The HF-2E could "be a tactical deterrent and strategic bargaining chip in possible military confidence-building measures" with China, said the analyst.

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Wendell Minnick is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

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