CHINA STEPS UP ABM TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

DF31 200105V with MZKT TEL Kanwa DF31 1999V Kanwa Photo Andrei Pinkov DF31 1999V Kanwa Photo Andrei Pinkov   MZKT 79161 from Minsk Kanwa Photo

<Kanwa news Nov 20th 19999> China has shown more and more interest in the ABM technology. Actually, as early as in 1995, a Chinese strategic scholar, in a book entitled "Could China Win the Next War?" put forward that China had to develop the ABM technology to safeguard its key cities and crucial economic facilities like the Three Gorges Dam.

The latest issue of "Hang Tian" magazine with the Chinese military background disclosed that China had started a research program on the Chinese version ABM technology, "Project 640," as early as in the 1970s. The development of four sorts intercept missiles was included in that project. Among them, "Fan-Ji 1" (counter-attack No. 1) and "Fan-Ji 2" (Counter-attack No. 2) TMD systems were completed. Two "Fan-Ji 1" missiles were manufactured and put into ABM test successfully in 1975. "Fan-Ji 2" was tested five times after its completion of design. "Fan-Ji 3" (Counter-attack No. 3) is a high altitude ABM, i.e. the Chinese version NMDts, but its designing process was interrupted by the chaos in the later stage of the Cultural Revolution. <For full story, see Kanwa Issue 1999 NOV 20 Issue>