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To: Jeff Gordon
We're not talking about defending the Taiwan Straights anymore, the Chinese are building a blue water navy now, complete with carriers (which they have no tradition of operating).

To what technology do you refer?

9 posted on 05/13/2010 6:49:07 PM PDT by skeeter
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To: skeeter

China will need another 50 years before their navy become a bona fide threat. Like you said, they have no experience with aircraft carriers.


10 posted on 05/13/2010 6:51:25 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: skeeter
To what technology do you refer?

The latter include what would be the world's first operational ballistic missile and maneuverable warhead guided by satellite and land-based over-the-horizon radar to strike aircraft carriers at up to 12 times the speed of sound far out at sea. U.S. military officials and analysts regard it as a serious threat to American naval operations in the Western Pacific.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on May 3 warned that "the virtual monopoly the U.S. has enjoyed with precision guided weapons is eroding — especially with long-range, accurate anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles that can potentially strike from over the horizon."

China's anti-ship ballistic missile, with a range of 1,500 km, would be fired from mobile launchers on land. Adm. Robert Willard, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told Congress in March that China was "developing and testing" the missile. He added that it was "designed specifically to target aircraft carriers." Gates said that such a weapon could potentially put at risk a modern nuclear-powered U.S. carrier with a full complement of the latest aircraft — an asset worth as much as $20 billion. He added that a combination of lethal missiles and stealthy submarines "could end the operational sanctuary our navy has enjoyed in the Western Pacific for the better part of six decades."

17 posted on 05/13/2010 11:54:13 PM PDT by Jeff Gordon (Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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