Longer Reach: China plans to purchase the Russian-made Su-35 and equip it with an advanced radar. (Eric Piermont / AFP)
China's New Jet, Radar Complicate US Posture -- Defense News
Russian-made Gear Extends Beijing's Punch.
TAIPEI — China’s increasing military musculature continues to crush the margins of how far the US military can conduct operations near the mainland, experts say. Through the purchase of Russian-made equipment, China is attempting to break beyond the current air defense range of 250 kilometers in what US experts refer to as China’s anti-access/area-denial strategy.
China plans to procure two new Russian weapon systems that will extend the range of its air defense strike capability to 400 kilometers. This would place all of Taiwan within the scope of China’s air defense network and endanger the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which China also claims.
The first is the much-reported negotiation for the 400-kilometer range S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system with a possible deal after 2017, when the Russian manufacturer, Almaz-Antey, fulfills Russian military orders.
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My Comment: The idea that China would have such an air force capability ten years ago was laughed at. Today .... no one is laughing. One can only imagine what another ten years may bring.
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