China's New Missile Destroyer: the 'Magic Shield of China'

People Daily (China) ^ | 5.29.03

[Enemy Of The State]

China's New Missile Destroyer: the 'Magic Shield of China'

The launch of China's first destroyer equipped with home-made ship-based missile operational system has been reported by Jane's Defense Weekly. The destroyer, the correspondence of US "Aegis", was dubbed the "magic shield of China" by Western military strategists. Since only the United States, Russia, Japan and a few European countries have the abilities to produce this type of complicated "magic shield" operational system in today's world, the launch of the "China magic shield" ship is of a milestone significance to China's navy. At the same time,

The "China magic shield" was built and launched at a speed beyond the expectations of the West, indicating that the manufacturing level of China's warships is heading toward maturity.

Aegis represents the most advanced world level

The "Aegis" operational system is an advanced ship missile system (ASMS) developed by US naval force in order to meet the need of ship-based air defense system. In the eyes of US naval force, the "Aegis" combat system can effectively resist the missile attacks mounted by the enemy simultaneously from all directions, it constitutes a solid shield of the US fleet.

After it was successfully developed in 1981, the US "Aegis" operational system has been used in succession to equip 27 US cruisers and new destroyers, and Japan has bought the said system from the United States to equip a new generation destroyer of its navy. Because it represents the most advanced naval scientific and technological level in today's world, so its production cost naturally is very high, reaching US$200 million per system (not including missile). In spite of the high cost, more and more countries have vied with one another to join the ranks of producing the "Aegis" warships. These countries include old-brand naval powers, Germany and Holland, as well as Norway and the Republic of Korea. In order to strengthen their naval force, Taiwan authorities have also tried every possible means to purchase the "Aegis" system from the United States.

To get to know the "China magic shield" ship

"This is a world-level warship of good performance China independently created after 20 years of digestion and assimilation of foreign ship-building technologies and in connection of the latest domestic scientific and technological achievements", said a Chinese military strategist while appraising the "China magic shield" ship. In contour, the "China magic shield" destroyer embodies the characteristics of the Russian water surface ship with a well-shaped body and smooth line-type; its upper structure absorbs the terse and easy features of Europe's new generation large main battle ship, with stress on the performance of invisibility. From the contour of the exquisitely made ship body, it can be guessed that the ship has an excellent ocean-going capability. The "China magic shield" ship has a perfect command, communication, electronic- interference, electronic reconnaissance system.

According to the Jane's Defense Weekly, the "China magic shield" ship was installed with China-made four-faceted large phased array radar, similar to the SPY-1D (V) three coordinate phased array radar of the US "Aegis) system. The ship-carrying weapons are especially attractive, they include single tube 100 mm main artillery with obscure characteristics, the vertical launching system for the most up-to-date home-made long-range air defense missiles, the new-generation super-sonic anti-ship missile and new-type, short range anti-missile system. These weapons were all manufactured at home in an integrated way, this fully demonstrated the scale and perfection of the supporting system for China's water surface ships. Worthy of mentioning is that the performance of the home-made new-type anti-ship missiles is not inferior to a Russia-type anti-ship missile called aircraft carrier killer.

One must not ignore the ocean if one wants to make his country prosperous

In the eyes of a strategist, ocean is always the focal point of attention. Ancient Chinese great navigator Zheng He had a famous remark: "If one wants to make his country prosperous, one must not ignore the ocean, as wealth is obtained from the sea, so danger also comes from the sea." A famous American military theoretician also bluntly pointed out: Anyone who controls the ocean also controls the world. In the 21st century, along with the intensified contention for ocean island reef and resources, the situation featuring the scramble for interest on the sea will become more severe. The United States, Japan, Russia and India are expanding their naval force at all costs. A situation of contention among various powers has emerged in the surrounding water areas of China. The construction of China's navy has traversed a course from poverty and blankness and gone through the stages of purchase, imitation, self-design and construction and has finally taken initial shape. Nevertheless, China's currently equipped main battle destroyers are still dominated by first- and second-generation destroyers with the existence of many shortcomings, such as small tonnage, the lack of effective time and space and anti-submarine means, rendering it impossible to meet the needs of future operations. Modern war is characterized by three-dimensional war involving the navy, ground and air forces, China's navy needs large water surface ships with strong capability for ocean operations. Russia's "Independent Military Review" reported that China's navy is implementing a 50-year, three-stage modernization program and will finally form an ocean fleet with the ability for ocean operations. The birth of the "China magic shield" destroyer will become a turning point by which the Chinese navy will switch from offshore to distant waters.

China's navy faces a long way ahead

Rear Admiral Zheng Ming, former head of the navy armament department, said that a warship with advanced properties could give full play to its combat effectiveness only when it is held in the hands of people with high competence. Chinese navy can guarantee that it is in an invincible position in future warfare only by intensifying personnel training while strengthening armament construction. Speaking specifically about the spate of Western media reports on the "China magic shield" ship, general Zheng Ming said that one must not fail to see the ulterior motives hidden behind these reports. He said that the development of China's navy is built on the basis of the strategic guideline of active defense, the Chinese navy's military spending is much lower than that of some neighboring countries, therefore, Chinese navy is a defensive force.

Although the "China magic shield" ship has been launched, the number of large warships in China's possession is still very few, Japan already has four "Aegis" warships, but there are very few reports by Western media about this. Western media play up the "China magic shield" ship in order to whip up opinion about the "China threat theory" and cover up their aim to develop their marine force by taking advantage of this opportunity. General Zheng Ming said that the "China magic shield" ship is the result of Chinese ship-builders' effort to keep pace with advanced world level, but we must clearly understand that there is still a certain gap between our technical level and the advanced world level, and Chinese navy still has a long way to go.

By People's Daily Online


Questions?Comments? Click here

[Pyrion]

Made in China, eh? Once its warranty expires it'll implode by design. ;)

[MattinNJ]

Fodder for our attack subs.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Clinton fingerpints.

[Enemy Of The State]

"Clinton fingerpints"

My thoughts exactly!

[AppyPappy]

Too bad they don't realize that ships are protected by planes these days. An F-18 can launch 4 Harpoons and you need two missiles to stand a chance at knocking down a Harpoon and a US Carrier has about 40 F-18's. Do the math. Not to mention the number of Harpoons held by Taiwan and Japan. They may be able to control their little part of the world but it only takes a few Kilos spread around the area to knock them off their perch.

A superpower needs three full carriers to project sea power. That's why the Russkies gave up on it.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

But China is our friend...nothing to see here move along.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Chinese dictator Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin make nice.

Russia and China Unite Against America

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

U.S. hits major Chinese, Iranian companies with sanctions

[putupon]

But China is our friend...nothing to see here move along.

Of course China is our friend, why would Bubba have sold them the missiles if they weren't?

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

The problem with a "Magic Shield" is that it is only one small (albeit significant) part of a defensive posture. And it is designed for a blue-water navy - which the Chinese don't have as of yet. Of course, it could be argued that the only two countries with a blue-water navy are the U.S. and the U.K.

[AppyPappy]

France, Spain, India, Brazil and Thailand are close. They all have carriers.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Clinton and China

[MattinNJ]

A superpower needs three full carriers to project sea power. That's why the Russkies gave up on it.

It's good to be the king. Remember when Madeline Albright said that we shouldn't be the lone superpower and should degrade our military. Now Dr. Rice comes in and her theory is that we should be able to take on the next two powers simultaneously. I hope we can hold the Presidency for the next 3 terms to implement weapons upgrades and roll back socialism through tax cuts. If that happens we should reign supreme for another 20-30 years.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Even Russia has carriers, but that doesn't make them a blue-water navy. I agree that others may be close, but thus far, only the U.K. and the U.S.A. have been successfully able to use them in anything other than as an extension of their coastal defenses.

That could (and most likely will) change in the future. But remember how shocked the rest of the world was when both the U.K. and the U.S. were able to successfully project their power effectively thousands of miles away from their respective homelands during Gulf war I and II.

[banjo joe]

"Perfect... systems", "...invincible Navy...".

I hope they believe their own hype.

[Sparta]

You left out Italy. She also has a carrier.

[Filibuster_60]

You can actually think of it as a first step to an aircraft carrier capability that they might acquire in the 2010-2020 timeframe. The reason they won't build a carrier before then is that they first need sufficient platforms for anti-air and anti-sub warfare, and their present generation of destroyers is woefully inadequate for that. I don't think they'll ever build large fleet carriers. More likely they'll follow the Soviet example of emphasizing nuclear submarines as the main blue-water strike force, and invest heavily in carrier-killing missiles and torpedoes to make us very uncomfortable about sending our CVBGs close to their shores as we've done in past crises.

[AppyPappy]

If the French deploy the Horizon ships, they can project pretty far out. Spain is upgrading their navy. I imagine these will eventually become Euronavy.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

The State of The Russian Navy

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Russian Navy

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Oh true, but it still is a coastal defensive system. Until they can effectively use naval forces to project power pretty much worldwide (as the U.K. and the U.S. can) they are not a blue water navy.

A blue water navy is more than defensive in nature. It should be able to take on offensive operations as needed also. This means, not only having the technical platforms, but having the people to run them also. In order to do this, China is going to have to go the super carrier route and build up a cadre of marine-type warriors. This is doable, but will require some time to do it (possibly decades). Right now, I'd say that China is not on that path. They are more worried about defensively countering the U.S. naval powers. Which means that for the next decade or so (unless they change their attitude), their forces will be fairly ineffective unless they have cover from land bases also.

[The Pheonix]

It is obvious that the Chicoms are not going to get involved in military adventures all over the World. They are not going to follow the USSR which tried to compete militarily at every level with the US, and went financially bankrupt as a result

It is obvious that the Chicoms military is purely defensive in nature. It is designed to fight a defensive war, within a distance of 500-1000 miles from their shoreline. That's why they are not building up a power-projection military force

Although India and Thailand has 1 carrier each, it don't mean much. A CVCG requires a minimum of 3 carriers, cos at any time 2 carriers needs maintanence, and aCVCG needs a lot of destroyers, supply ships etc etc. Anyhow the INdian carrier is so old, more than half the time it is in the workshop

The cost of sending an expedisionary force is so EXPENSIVE that only the US can really afford it

Yes siree, we Americans are the only SUPERPOWER, nobody even comes close

[AngryJawa]

That'll make a very nice coral reef someday courtesy of the USN. It's nice to see that the ChiComs are so concerned about the loss of undersea habitats.

[Enemy Of The State]

"It is obvious that the Chicoms military is purely defensive in nature"

Really? Are you sure about that?

Did you imply sarcasm into that statement because I dont think Taiwan, Mongolia, Tibet, the Philippines, Japan or Vietnam would agree with you.

[Filibuster_60]

They don't think in those terms. We obviously don't see eye-to-eye with them on what constitutes a strategic threat from them. Remember, they claim a 200-mile privilege zone for their coastal waters. Over the next 10 years they'll acquire the means to enforce that kind of territoriality. The problem is, that 200-mile zone encompasses Taiwan. In other words they can seriously threaten Taiwan - as they do already - and still claim to have a "defensive" navy. Over time the same logic will apply to the entire South China Sea. They're gradually pushing out their maritime perimiter, and don't be surprised if they exert a degree of control 500 or even 1,000 kilometers offshore by 2020. True, their strength will still depend mostly on their massive continental base, but as far as they're concerned that's quite an accomplishment. It means that even the US Navy won't be able to freely intervene in a crisis that falls within their maritime perimeter.

[The Pheonix]

yes, you have brought up a good point

Politically, the Chicoms does have claims to Taiwan, the Spratleys

But militarily they are a defensive force, although their vision is to be a military like the US

But that takes a lot of time and a lot of money

But at the end of the day, you are right, we have to watch them very very carefull;y and to make sure that we are always 10 steps ahead

[dark_lord]

Have you ever played "Go"? The approach in that game is the approach that the PRC is using to extend their maritime perimeter.

[The Pheonix]

Re my post # 27

Sorry typo

"...they are at the moment a defensive force, although in the future they want to be on par with the US military ( a futile dream).....and they are working on it, slowly but surely

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Claiming territory and defending are two different things. Argentina claims Antartica, but she is ignored by the rest of the world. Iran (during Gulf War I) claimed that we were infringing on her sea territories. Whenever they tried to enforce this claim, they were slaughtered by the U.S. It is true that China is claiming a huge swath of sea. It is also true that they cannot currently back this up. It is also true that they are ignored by just about everybody. If they were to try to enforce it, they might just find that it would be a tad bit expensive. Politically, it would be nasty for them, because P.I., which is already nervous about Chinese adventurism in disputed territory might just become unhappy enough to beg the U.S. to come back. Something that the Chinese don't want in the least. Furthermore, the Chinese probably don't want to take a chance of being humiliated, whereas the Americans just plain don't care.

[Enemy Of The State]

The Chicoms do not have ANY legal claim to Taiwan. Physically, Historically or Politically. To imply otherwise only gives legitimacy to the mainlands constant terrorist threats against the Sovereign Nation of Taiwan.

Even militarily, they are not seeking to build a defense force. Who are they defending against? I have not seen anyone lining up to invade China. They are the aggressors as they Proved in 1995 when they seized Mischief reef from the Philippines and when they invaded Vietname in the late 70's. Not to mention April 1, 2001 when they forced down our EP-3 plane that was conducting routine surveilience over international waters.

I do agree though, we must stay 10 steps ahead of them at every chance.

[SauronOfMordor]

You can actually think of it as a first step to an aircraft carrier capability that they might acquire in the 2010-2020 timeframe.

It seems like the Chinese plan is to first put the US economy into permanent depression through undercutting our manufactoring base. Once we can no longer afford to support our military, they will be free to expand

[Filibuster_60]

Yeah, I think "Go" actually originated in China where it's called "Wei-qi" - literally "encirclement game."

[SauronOfMordor]

In order to do this, China is going to have to go the super carrier route and build up a cadre of marine-type warriors.

Look for "outside the box" thinking from the Chinese. Like making vertical-launch systems in shipping-container form-factors, so as to give their fleet of merchant ships the ability to be quickly converted to launch salvos of cruise missiles.

[Squantos]

A new artifical reef in the making..........Stay Safe !

[Filibuster_60]

The Chicoms do not have ANY legal claim to Taiwan. Physically, Historically or Politically. To imply otherwise only gives legitimacy to the mainlands constant terrorist threats against the Sovereign Nation of Taiwan.

You're contradicting our own foreign policy. Nobody's ever recognized Taiwan as a sovereign nation. After WWII it was nominally returned to China by Taiwan, and since the Nationalists fled there in '49, Taipei was recognized as the government of all China. When the Chicoms instead were recognized as the government of all China, they got an implicit claim to Taiwan - though for them the claim is explicit.

They are the aggressors as they Proved in 1995 when they seized Mischief reef from the Philippines and when they invaded Vietname in the late 70's.

The Vietnam invasion was pretty much approved by US. It has to be viewed in the context of the Cold War and the Sino-Soviet split that largely determined its outcome in Asia.

[Filibuster_60]

Correction: Nominally returned to China by Japan, not Taiwan.

[Filibuster_60]

Look for "outside the box" thinking from the Chinese. Like making vertical-launch systems in shipping-container form-factors, so as to give their fleet of merchant ships the ability to be quickly converted to launch salvos of cruise missiles.

Exactly. They're probably fitting a huge fleet of cargo vessels to launch everything from MRLS to SAM systems. Armed cargo ships will probably form a major element of any amphibious assault they launch on their maritime periphery. For one thing they're so numerous that they can potentially overwhelm coastal defenses by sheer numbers. If you're an island defener, imagine having to deal with hundreds of heavily armed merchantmen among thousands of decoys.

Another thing that's not mentioned often: Long range artillery. The Chinese are almost second to none in MRLS and are pursuing electromagnetic artillery ("rail guns") at least as feverishly as Western militaries. In future their artillery range could reach that of their short-range ballistic missiles. That's very bad news for Taiwan.

[The Pheonix]

Newsmax's Dr.Nemets, (for what's it's worth) said in some articles that China is developing long range land-based attack cruise-missiles, with a range of up to 4000 km. If this is true, it is relly bad-news

Nemets also claimed that the Chicoms have land-based cruise-missiles with ranges of 1500-200km

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Oh very true. But that still just gives them a coastal defense system or possibly a good first-strike capability. It doesn't give them a very good long-reach offensive capability. In order to jinn up a blue water navy, they are going to go head to head against the U.K. and the U.S. Such a navy is so prohibitively expensive that very few of todays economies can afford it. The U.S. and the U.K. have a distinct advantage in the fact that they already have the infrastructure, whereas the Chinese do not. Given the fact that I believe that it is just a matter of time before the Beijing falls due to the inherent inconsistencies in her framework, I don't believe the Chinese have enough will, time or money to build up more than a partial blue-water navy.

[JSteff]

Are you talking of the same France with the carrier that lost it's propeller on the first cruise?

[AppyPappy]

Are you talking of the same France with the carrier that lost it's propeller on the first cruise? Yes. The LE CARrier.

[Teacher317]

Good for them. Now the libs can't scream when we build one.

(Personally, I can't fathom how they stood so adamantly against something that destroys nuclear weapons, but such is the delusion of liberalism.)