Missile Defense Briefing Report: No. 310

TAIWAN WORKS ON NEW MISSILE...
Taiwan is in the process of developing a surface-to-surface missile with the capacity to strike central and southern regions of Mainland China, including Shanghai. The missile, known as the “Cloud Peak” or Yunfeng, has a range of 1,200 kilometers and could be able to travel as far as 2,000 kilometers with future upgrades. Sources within the Taiwanese government have indicated that the Cloud Peak, production of which is scheduled to begin in 2014, is a response to China’s decision to modernize its short-range ballistic missile force. The move has political implications, however; the Cloud Peak violates the Missile Technology Control Regime which, although not a formal agreement, limits the range of missiles to 300 kilometers or less. The system is therefore likely to engender objections from the U.S. government. (Defense News, January 18, 2013)

...WHILE CHINA DEVELOPS RAILS FOR ICBMS
A number of experts in Chinese military strategy have indicated that China is building long-range missile trains which will be able to quickly and covertly transport ICBMs across the country. These missile trains will allow China to hide their long-range missiles in tunnels and could potentially be used as rail-mobile launchers. Phillip Karber, the head of Georgetown University’s Asian Arms Control Project, which uncovered and translated information about the missile train program, believes that the program will create “major questions for American strategy and arms control policy.” China is reportedly building between 620 and 1,240 miles of track capable of supporting the weight of the ballistic missile trains, which can reach speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour. (Washington Free Beacon, January 25, 2013)

BLIMPS TO BOLSTER WASHINGTON’S AIR SHIELD
The Pentagon plans on deploying large, helium-filled “aerostats” above Washington, DC as part of the defense system designed to protect America’s capital from an air-based attack. These aerostats are known as Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) and are being developed and produced by Raytheon. The JLENS craft are equipped with powerful surveillance radar which can detect threats, including cruise and ballistic missiles, up to 340 miles away. The JLENS are 243 feet long, tethered to mobile moorings, and operate in pairs. Each pair, which costs approximately $450 million, can be deployed as high as 10,000 feet for up to 30 days at a time. The Pentagon plans to conduct a multi-year “capabilities demonstration” of the system beginning this Fall. (Reuters, February 1, 2013)

SEOUL PLANS MISSILES AT SEA
In response to mounting tensions with neighboring North Korea, South Korea plans to deploy between 50 and 60 Spike anti-tank missiles near the maritime border between the two countries. The missiles will be placed on the islands of Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, the latter of which was the site of 2010 shelling by Pyongyang that killed four South Koreans. The Israeli-made Spike missiles have a range of 25 kilometers and are reportedly able to use GPS technology to strike targets hidden in mountain caves, a common tactic employed by the North Koreans to protect their artillery pieces. (Defense News, January 18, 2013)

INDIA SEEKS JOINT MISSILE PROJECT WITH ISRAEL
The head of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal N.K. Browne, has asked the Israeli government to speed up its development of the medium-range surface-to-air-missile (MRSAM). The MRSAM is being developed jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Israel’s state-controlled Israel Aerospace Industries. The goal of the project is to produce at least 18 firing units, each of which holds 16 missiles, along with the related targeting and firing systems, at a total cost of over $2 billion. However, the project has run into technical problems since development began in 2009, including a failed prototype test last year. The MRSAM, one manifestation of expanding military cooperation between Jerusalem and New Delhi, is supposed to be able to intercept missiles at a maximum range of 70 kilometers, and will be equipped with advanced phased array radar. (Defense News, January 28, 2013)