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| S-400 Triumf (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
Vasily Kashin, a military commentator from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies based in Moscow has said that the S-400 air defense system will give the People's Liberation Army the ability to control the entire airspace of Taiwan, in an article he wrote for Sputnik News in response to an article by J. Michael Cole, the Canadian chief editor of Thinking Taiwan, a media platform sponsored by Tsai Ing-wen, the chair of Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party.
In his article, Cole first questioned whether the S-400, which China has already purchased from Russia although it has not yet received it, is capable of hitting maneuvering targets at its maximum range, citing comments from Roger Cliff from the Project 2049 Institute based in Washington, "If the maximum distance a 48N6 missile can fly is 250 kilometers, the odds of it actually intercepting its target at that range are pretty minimal, unless the target flies straight and level the whole time."
Since China's S-400 will likely to be equipped with the long-range 48N6 missiles with which the S-300 is equipped, the maximum range is limited to 250 km said Cole. Besides, the deployment of the S-400 to the coast of Fujian province in Southeastern China would pose a threat to Chinese civilian and military aircraft flying in the region as well. Cole also said that the S-400 could hit PLA Air Force fighters by mistake.
Read the full story at Want China Times