In his recent article written for the Defense News, Wendell Minnick, an American military analyst, said on Dec. 6 that the People’s Liberation Army’s new S-400 purchased from Russia has the ability to completely wipe out Taiwan’s air defense.
Reports from Russia indicated that China signed a US$3 billion contract to purchase enough S-400 surface-to-air missiles to equip its six air defense battalions based near its major eastern cities. Those missiles will be scattered along the coast facing Taiwan and Japan. With a range of 400 km, the missile can cover the entire air space of Taiwan, according to Vasiliy Kashin from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies based in Moscow.
Once the S-400 is deployed, the Republic of China Air Force will be completely useless to stop China’s anti-access and aera denial strategies even if it purchases F-16C/D fighters from the United States. “Given its extremely long range and effective electronic warfare capabilities, the S-400 is a game-changing system that challenges current military capabilities at the operational level of war,” said Paul Giarra, the president of Global Strategies and Transformation.
Giarra said that the S-400 has the effect of turning a defense system into an offensive system and extends China’s capability to carry out military operations over the territory of American allies and the high seas. York Chen, a former senior adviser of Taiwan’s National Security Council also said that the S-400 missile can give China enough confidence to control the airspace over the Taiwan strait. It is likely to be used to wipe out the remaining fighters of the ROCAF after the PLA destroys Taiwan’s air bases and runways.
Full article: S-400 can wipe out Taiwan’s air defense: Defense News (Want China Times)
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