China says it successfully conducted missile interception test
China carried out a successful land-based mid-course missile interception test Friday night, the country’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
The test, which was conducted “within its territory,” was described as “defensive in nature” and not targeted at any particular country, the ministry said.
The operation achieved “the desired test objective,” officials said, without providing any other details such as the test’s precise location, how many interceptors were fired or whether any objects were hit.
Beijing’s announcement, which points to an apparent show of progress in the country’s defense capabilities, is thought to be the sixth successful attempt by China to bring down ballistic missiles, according to the South China Morning Post.
Ground-based mid-course defense systems, or GMD, are expensive to build and extremely complex to carry out. They employ “integrated communications networks, fire control systems, globally deployed sensors and ground-based interceptors that are capable of detecting, tracking and destroying ballistic missile threats,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
China’s capabilities in operating such systems are not well known.
Intelligence experts say China has one of the world’s largest arsenals of all types of missiles. According to a report published by the Defense Department late last year, Beijing currently has more than 400 nuclear warheads, but its nuclear capacity is rapidly expanding.
“If China continues the pace of its nuclear expansion, it will likely field a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads” by 2035, according to the report.
GMD systems are a major component of missile defense for the U.S. military. Recent actions seen as provocation from North Korea have led the military to put the system through additional testing in response.
With News Wire Services
