Arms race in space gathers pace as China and the US test missiles
China and the United States have both launched missile tests in recent days, prompting analysts to suggest a space arms race between them is gathering pace.
China tested a Dong Neng-3 missile at the Korla Missile Test Complex in Xinjiang on October 30, the Washington Free Beacon said on Monday, citing two anonymous US officials.
The officials described the Dong Neng-3 as a “direct-ascent missile” designed to take out satellites. It was designed to target even those satellites with missile defence capabilities, they said.
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Two days later, America’s Missile Defence Agency tested its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system on Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean. The test, which cost US$230 million, demonstrated THAAD destroying a ballistic missile launched by a C-17 transport plane.
The Beacon said the Dong Neng-3 test was China’s eighth anti-satellite missile test.
In January 2007, Beijing said it had successfully conducted an anti-satellite missile test, shooting down an old weather satellite at an altitude of 860km.
He Qisong, a defence policy specialist at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said it was plausible Chinese missiles were capable of knocking out spy satellites.
Missile interception weapons [can be used as] anti-satellite weapons
“Missile interception weapons [can be used as] anti-satellite weapons,” said He. “It’s just a matter of how far into space the missile can reach.
“The Americans know this very well because they have long been doing the same thing [disguising anti-satellite tests as missile interception tests].”
He said China was trying to catch up with the US in the space arms race. China’s missiles could reach 2,000km into space, enough to hit reconnaissance satellites, which operate 700km above the ground, he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
