US Air Force sounds alarm on China's missile arsenal and 'Kill Web' threat
US Air Force leaders are alarmed by China's growing missile capabilities and its development of a sophisticated "kill web" for targeting US forces. Experts suggest a full-scale invasion of Taiwan is unlikely due to high risks. Instead, China might opt for coercive measures like blockades and political warfare to achieve its objectives, according to a Stimson Center seminar.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Leaders in the US Air Force have expressed worries regarding the missile capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and its development of a " kill web ," noting that the forthcoming budget request from the US Department of Defense emphasizes enhancing defenses in the Indo-Pacific due to the escalating threat from China, as reported by the Taipei Times.Experts in the US believe that a full-scale invasion by China is both risky and improbable, suggesting that Beijing is more likely to adopt coercive measures such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its objectives. High-ranking officers from the Air Force and the US Space Force, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman, participated in a Senate subcommittee hearing to discuss the defence budget for the upcoming year.Both Meink and Saltzman remarked that the PLA is making progress in its ballistic missile capabilities . They noted that China possesses over 900 short-range missiles capable of targeting Taiwan, along with 400 land-based missiles that can reach the first island chain. In addition, they highlighted China's arsenal of 1,300 medium-range ballistic missiles that can strike the second island chain, 500 intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach parts of Alaska and Australia, and more than 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear payloads globally, according to the Taipei Times report.Saltzman expressed his greatest concern regarding China's "kill web," which allows the PLA to monitor US joint forces and operations from significant distances. He mentioned last March that China had already deployed over 470 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites, which contribute information to a sophisticated sensor-to-shooter kill web. This type of "kill web," which connects sensors directly to strike units, speeds up attack execution through data sharing and automation, facilitating strikes to be carried out within seconds.In another development, the Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington, hosted a seminar titled "The Realities of an Invasion of Taiwan," in which senior fellow Dan Grazier, fellow James Siebens, and research associate MacKenna Rawlins examined the strategic, political, economic, and military considerations that China may factor into its invasion plans for Taiwan.Drawing from research that included field investigations in Taiwan, Grazier and his team concluded that attempting an amphibious assault on the island would involve significant risks, such as the threat of nuclear escalation , political instability, and economic fallout, with a low likelihood of success. Grazier indicated that the potential risks involved in invading Taiwan far surpass any possible benefits, while Siebens noted that China has various military strategies that could be more viable and simpler to execute, including a blockade, emphasizing that China is pursuing unification through political warfare and coercive tactics, as cited by the Taipei Times report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
US Air Force sounds alarm on China's missile arsenal and 'Kill Web' threat
US Air Force leaders are alarmed by China's growing missile capabilities and its development of a sophisticated "kill web" for targeting US forces. Experts suggest a full-scale invasion of Taiwan is unlikely due to high risks. Instead, China might opt for coercive measures like blockades and political warfare to achieve its objectives, according to a Stimson Center seminar. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Leaders in the US Air Force have expressed worries regarding the missile capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and its development of a " kill web ," noting that the forthcoming budget request from the US Department of Defense emphasizes enhancing defenses in the Indo-Pacific due to the escalating threat from China, as reported by the Taipei in the US believe that a full-scale invasion by China is both risky and improbable, suggesting that Beijing is more likely to adopt coercive measures such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its objectives. High-ranking officers from the Air Force and the US Space Force, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman, participated in a Senate subcommittee hearing to discuss the defence budget for the upcoming Meink and Saltzman remarked that the PLA is making progress in its ballistic missile capabilities . They noted that China possesses over 900 short-range missiles capable of targeting Taiwan, along with 400 land-based missiles that can reach the first island chain. In addition, they highlighted China's arsenal of 1,300 medium-range ballistic missiles that can strike the second island chain, 500 intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach parts of Alaska and Australia, and more than 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear payloads globally, according to the Taipei Times expressed his greatest concern regarding China's "kill web," which allows the PLA to monitor US joint forces and operations from significant distances. He mentioned last March that China had already deployed over 470 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites, which contribute information to a sophisticated sensor-to-shooter kill web. This type of "kill web," which connects sensors directly to strike units, speeds up attack execution through data sharing and automation, facilitating strikes to be carried out within another development, the Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington, hosted a seminar titled "The Realities of an Invasion of Taiwan," in which senior fellow Dan Grazier, fellow James Siebens, and research associate MacKenna Rawlins examined the strategic, political, economic, and military considerations that China may factor into its invasion plans for from research that included field investigations in Taiwan, Grazier and his team concluded that attempting an amphibious assault on the island would involve significant risks, such as the threat of nuclear escalation , political instability, and economic fallout, with a low likelihood of success. Grazier indicated that the potential risks involved in invading Taiwan far surpass any possible benefits, while Siebens noted that China has various military strategies that could be more viable and simpler to execute, including a blockade, emphasizing that China is pursuing unification through political warfare and coercive tactics, as cited by the Taipei Times report.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Business Standard
China removes senior general, naval chief & top scientist in military
The purge of China's powerful defence and security establishment continued as top military officials, including a senior general, chief of navy and a nuclear scientist, were expelled from the national legislature on Friday. General Miao Hua along with Vice Admiral Li Hanjun, chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and Liu Shipeng, deputy chief engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation, have been removed from the National People's Congress (NPC), the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Li is the latest of a string of PLA generals and a handful of defence industry executives to have been implicated in a sweeping crackdown in the military, the Post reported. Both have been stripped of their membership of the legislature, the report said. State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the standing committee of the NPC, which concluded its session here on Friday, also voted to remove top General Miao Hua from his position as a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the Chinese military, headed by President Xi Jinping. Miao, the youngest general in the Chinese military hierarchy, has been under probe for serious violations of discipline since November last year. He was dismissed from the NPC in April this year. Miao was also director of the Political Work Department of the CMC, a role critical in managing Communist Party ideology and personnel changes within the People's Liberation Army (PLA). His career advanced significantly after Xi assumed power, leading to roles in the Chinese Navy as a political commissar and eventually becoming the PLA's youngest admiral. The defence ministry said Miao was being investigated for suspected serious violations of discipline, a phrase used as a euphemism for corruption. Since he took over power towards the end of 2012, 72-year-old Xi has carried out massive purges in the country's over two-million-strong military, removing or punishing dozens of senior generals for corruption and indiscipline. Those who were punished included two defence ministers as Xi consolidated his hold on the armed forces and the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). Xi has repeatedly emphasised the importance of party loyalty among PLA officials to strengthen ideological control and support China's goal of becoming a military superpower. Miao is the second CMC member to be removed from his position since the current leadership took office in 2022.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
11 hours ago
- First Post
US strikes in Iran carry a message to China against Taiwan invasion — but there's a catch
Analysts have said that US strikes on Iran's underground nuclear sites have a message for China against the invasion of Taiwan. However, they have noted that there is major catch with this approach: Unlike Iran, China already has nuclear weapons. read more A US Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber (C) is flanked by 4 US Marine Corps F-35 fighters during a flyover of military aircraft down the Hudson River and New York Harbor past York City, and New Jersey, US, July 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities carry a message to China against the invasion of Taiwan, according to analysts. China considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan a breakaway province and is committed to it reunification with the mainland — forcefully if needed. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the military to be ready by 2027 for an invasion of Taiwan for the reunification. Analysts have said that the way US struck Iranian nuclear sites and deploy a group of bombers as decoys to Guam in the Indo-Pacific showed that the United States was capable of fielding bombers in two theatres and conducting two parallel operations. As the principal challenger in the Indo-Pacific, the message could not have been lost on China. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, analysts have stressed there is a catch. Unlike Iran, China has nuclear weapons and any US-China confrontation is bound to be very different from a US-Iran confrontation. How US strikes in Iran sent a message to China Firstly, US strikes told China that its top strategic sites, such as the Central Military Commission command center and forward wartime headquarters, would not be beyond the reach of US bombs. Notably, the United States is developing 'bunker buster' bombs expected to be four times more powerful than the ones dropped on Iran last week. Secondly, the deployment of decoy bombers to the Indo-Pacific was a 'brilliant deterrence operation' and demonstrated US capabilities to operate across the world from Tehran to Taiwan, according to Miles Yu, a former State Department policy planner on China. 'This operation also served as stern warning to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] as to what the American military is capable of, especially our ability to outsmart, outplan, out-coordinate and overpower any adversary in a long-distant global conflict, whether it's half a world away in Tehran or over the Taiwan Strait,' Yu told Washington Times. Such a message also told China that it does not 'own' the Indo-Pacific region, according to Captain Jim Fanell, a former Pacific Fleet intelligence chief at the US Navy. 'Not only did it deceive the 'open source' intelligence community and provide operational security, but it was also a very important signal that the [People's Republic of China] does not have any 'ownership' of the western Pacific, and that America is still the most dominant military force in the world,' Fanell told Washington Times. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Thirdly, the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites served as the demonstration of Trump's will to intervene abroad if required and come to the aid of allies and partners. 'After the Iran strikes, I suspect that Chinese leaders will now be more nervous about testing President Trump's resolve' on Taiwan, Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told The New York Times. 'Caution is warranted, both because Trump appears more willing to use force than many expected, but also because his actions seem less predictable,' Cooper further said. But there's a catch Despite the gravity of the message that US strikes inside Iran sent to China, there is one catch: Unlike Iran, China has nuclear weapons. As China has nuclear weapons and has naval and air defence capabilities much better than Iran, any US-China confrontation is bound to be very different from US-Iran confrontation. Moreover, Israel holds a special place for the United States that Taiwan does not hold. Trump, or any other US president for that matter, may not feel the same security commitment to Taiwan as Israel. For decades, China has prepared for the invasion of Taiwan and US intervention. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Chinese leaders are confident that their military is much more formidable than the weakened Iranian forces that Israeli and US forces overcame, said Stacie Pettyjohn, a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, according to NYT. 'The US couldn't just swoop in there with an exquisite capability and launch a limited number of strikes and win. That is something that would be very clear to Beijing,' Pettyjohn further said. In the case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan that sees US military involvement on Taiwan's side, the destruction will be at a scale not seen since World War 2, according to a wargame by Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The CSIS exercise concluded that US-Taiwanese forces will thwart the Chinese occupation of Taiwan, but the costs will be so huge that US military will be degraded for many years. 'This defense comes at a high cost. The United States and Japan lose dozens of ships, hundreds of aircraft, and thousands of servicemembers. Such losses would damage the US global position for many years. While Taiwan's military is unbroken, it is severely degraded and left to defend a damaged economy on an island without electricity and basic services. China also suffers heavily. Its navy is in shambles, the core of its amphibious forces is broken, and tens of thousands of soldiers are prisoners of war,' the wargame's report noted. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
