What does the above chart pulled from DoD’s annual assessment of China’s military modernization tell us? It illustrates the maximum range of the various missiles in the PLA arsenal; the “strike” component of a “reconnaissance strike complex.” What’s missing is the reconnaissance piece. Smart weapons require a smart reconnaissance and targeting network otherwise they’re useless. […]
From the monthly archives:
August 2010
While missiles and RPGs have downed more helicopters in both Iraq and Afghanistan, insurgents shouldering the venerable AK-47 are a far more frequently encountered threat to helicopters in Afghanistan than shoulder fired missiles. Army and Marine helicopters have been equipped with electronic detection and countermeasures to protect against shoulder fired and larger missiles for years. […]
Yesterday, the newly appointed spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry, Geng Yansheng, said the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military modernization “ignored objective facts,” exaggerated the Chinese threat to Taiwan and was not beneficial to improved Sino-U.S. ties. “China’s military development is reasonable and appropriate, and is aimed to protect its national sovereignty, security and territorial […]
No DoD assessment of Chinese military power would be complete without an update on the People’s Liberation Army’s ongoing effort to build an anti-ship ballistic missile; a weapon some hyperbolically claim could change the balance of power in the Western Pacific. We’ll set aside for the moment the issue of whether an individual weapon can […]
The Congressional Research Service’s excellent and prolific naval analyst Ron O’Rourke is out with an updated report today looking at the Navy’s shipbuilding plan; the report also looks at a number of the proposed alternatives to the Navy’s plan including the Independent Panel Assessment of the 2010 QDR (which I derided). As O’Rourke points out, […]
