S-400 can wipe out Taiwan’s air defense: Defense News

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.

3rd anti-satellite missile test launch in China: report

Once China is fully capable of operating its anti-satellite interceptor, Minnick said that the United States may no longer be able to protect its surveillance, navigation and communications satellites. China’s first two anti-satellite tests involving the SC-19 design, based on the DF-21 ballistic missile, took place in 2007 and 2010. However, only the first test was launched directly against a weather satellite. The other two tests were against ballistic missiles.