The People’s Liberation Army has taken delivery of the first batch of equipment for an advanced Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, probably bringing the entire island of Taiwan within range of Chinese forces for the first time.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported that a control station, radars, fuel and other auxiliary equipment for the missile system were en route to China. It said Chinese troops, believed to be from the PLA’s Rocket Force, had undergone training on the system in Russia last year.
Described as “one of the best air-defence systems currently made” by The Economist, the S-400 system can fire four missiles simultaneously at multiple aircraft and at different altitudes over a maximum range of 400 kilometers and withstand powerful electronic jamming defenses.
Launch silos and vehicles are being readied in the southeastern province of Fujian, which is only 130 km from Taiwan at the most narrow point in the straits, comfortably within the missiles’ range.
China is reportedly buying six batteries of the S-400 under a deal signed in March 2014. The order was announced at the end of last year during a visit to Russia by Chinese Communist Party Central Military Commission deputy chairman Zhang Youxia.
The PLA has deployed 15 divisions of the S-400’s predecessor, the S-300, along Fujian’s coast, primarily targeting northern Taiwan. But the arrival of the S-400, which Russia calls the “Triumf” and Western forces know as the “Growler,” could be a real game-changer in the region.
In Syria, where it was widely used by Russian forces, the S-400 was regarded as the most effective long-range surface-to-air missile battery available. Used by Russia since 2007, it is rated by some analysts as far superior to any equivalent Western system.
However, its effectiveness in the Taiwan Straits will depend on which missile actually accompanies the battery. A new generation of 40N6Е missiles is being developed to replace the S-300 series, but it is unclear if any will be ready for the first Chinese batches — or whether Moscow is even willing to release them.
The 40N6Е has an active radar homing capability in the terminal phase of the launch, a wider range of target detection and better control systems. Some analysts say that without the 40N6Е, the batteries will not be a big improvement on the existing S-300 systems.
Taiwan will be very interested to know which system is coming, as the enhanced range will allow China not only to dictate aircraft movements in the strait, but also around the disputed Diaoyu Islands. Known as Senkaku by Japan, which also claims the islands, they could be reached by missiles launched in northern Shandong Province, making it difficult for the US and Japan to deploy combat aircraft in this airspace.
The fact that China is equipping only four divisions with S-400s suggests that they may be only a stop-gap measure while the PLA develops its own long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Either way, it will have an edge over Taiwan forces.
Taiwan-based military observer Wendell Minnick told Deutsche Welle that Taiwan does not yet have batteries capable of countering S-300 and S-400 missiles launched across the strait in a pre-emptive strike.
It’s not missiles that are a threat, it’s who is in charge of them.
I am sure that the THAAD system will be deployed and come in very hand as long as Taiwan is in need of defence.
This will be the nightmare of the CCP.
The trucks in the first picture seem to have been there a long time and have overgrown with vegetation. 😀
It`s called camoflage.
American THAAD system is superior to Russian S-400.
You are wrong.
The reason China, and Russia, bitches about THAAD is not because they fear it. The reason China and Russia bitch about THAAD is because THAAD potentially give『the idi-amin-warlords of south Korea』the false confidences 『to exercise their hyper-korean-personality in the korean peninsula』and the potentials of an all out arm’s race in Asia that Asia does not want. S-400, HQ-19, and THAAD are of equivalent class weaponry’s therefore neither of three whould have any fear of the other.
China ???????? will never gain absolute control of Taiwan as it has done on some mainland Autonomous regions like Tibet, Hong Kong an Macaco.
Its strong commitment in militarism is largely meant to intimidate Taiwan and its major ally_the United States. With the purchase of this missiles technology, Beijing feels more relieve in evading US intervention in protecting Taiwanese sovereignty.
Wanna bet? The premonition I have of what I deem as a conspiracy in the works "TO ULILIZE NATIONALISM" as a tool to have Korea reunified again will happen, and from there, a domino affect will kick in amongst the newer generations of Chinese and reunification will happen.
Yah came in hsnd
Derek Thai Beautiful Sir. You are very right.
The S-400 is capable of hitting targets at a height of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles). Its second distinctive feature is fire-and-forget capability. Its missiles are fitted with a homing device which can lock on a target and destroy it. Unlike US systems, the S-400 does not need to track the target,
Every one has comments in here are all mistakes , about S-400M is very powerfully of anti anything on space ,
Heil Jerry! We need more patriots like him and we need a firing squat treatment to deal with every traitor in our midst. I’m sure everyone in the higher enchiladas of HongKer society, HongKer journalists working for white-arese-wipes inclusive, fall in this groupy of HongKers we need to be extracted from HongKer society and deported to the countries and/or to social systems they support and to bar indefinitely from Chunese dominions.
Re at least those americans spies are dead:
Not good enough. We cursed the Japs for their war crimes war 2 and we never forgave them for it, not now, not in the past, not in the future, all the while it is traitors like these who are bleeding the nation dry and who drank the life bloods out of the peopke of CHins. These people deserve a greater death than the death they did to their country and their countrymen. My recommendation is zero tolerance, 砍草除根 even.
How about AGNY ..