PLA’s MIRV equipped missiles may pose threat to US
PLA’s MIRV-equipped missiles may pose threat to US. As China’s missile defense technology develops, the country’s anti-ballistic technology has seen a parallel rise, according to Sina’s military news web portal. In the Cold War era the US and Russia armed their anti-ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. The US Sentinel Program and the Soviet A-35 system were the biggest profile anti-ballistic missile systems of the time. Although these two systems could theoretically intercept ballistic missiles, the nuclear warheads would explode over their home territory at a high altitude, leading to irreparable damage. Later, due to a development in missile technology, intercept missiles became more accurate and kinetic energy interceptors (KIE) were introduced. This intercept system was less costly in terms of the threat to the countries’ own citizens. Intercontinental missiles were also getting larger and costs were increasing in order to give their nuclear warheads enough power, whereas for anti-ballistic intercept missiles, costs were not as high, which made them more practical and easier to develop. A March 3 article in UK-based IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly stated that there may be a new variant of China’s DF-31 long-range solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), citing testimony from Cecil D Haney, commander of the United States Strategic Command and images of a Chinese transporter erector launcher (TEL). Haney said while testifying on Feb. 26, that China is “enhancing existing silo-based ICBMs, conducting flight tests of a new mobile missile and developing a follow-on mobile system capable of carrying multiple warheads,” according to the weekly. Previous reports have mentioned the liquid fuelled DF-5A ICBM and nuclear solid-fueled road-mobile DF-41, according to the weekly, but Haney mentioned “a follow-on mobile system capable of carrying multiple warheads,” which the magazine believes to be an oblique reference to the DF-31B.
