China's missile can perform strikes even via South Pole

October 18, 2021 12:52

More on China's nuke missile:

CASC's achievement was certainly astounding. It was the first time China has conducted such a feat, and the pace at which Beijing is developing such technologies is the stunning US officials.

This capability bears all the hallmarks of a fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS). Russia was the first country to develop one in the mid-1960s, before fielding multiple-warhead missiles made its FOBS redundant.

What is a fractional orbital bombardment system? It comprises an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that launches a warhead into low Earth orbit. When the payload approaches its target, an onboard retro rocket detaches the payload and causes it to return to Earth.

The trajectory of an FOBS is very different to that of a ballistic missile, which follows a parabolic curve with its apogee in space.

FOBS, on the other hand, are more maneuverable and have a flatter trajectory, making them more difficult to track and hit.

Frank Kendall, the US Air Force Secretary, dropped hints last month that China was developing such a weapon. He noted China was making huge advances, including the "potential for global strikes...from space". He said about FOBS: "If you use that kind of an approach, you don't have to use a traditional ICBM trajectory. It's a way to avoid defenses and missile warning systems."

Indeed, a fielded FOBS-type missile and HGV would bypass existing American ballistic missile defenses (BMD).Its early-warning radars are in Alaska, California, Greenland, Massachusetts and the UK, pointing north, east and south.

Most interceptor missiles are based in Alaska, ready to face an attack coming from the north via the North Pole.

The problem for American BMD is that Chinese FOBS can perform strikes from unexpected directions and vectors - via the South Pole, for example. Furthermore, they would have virtually no limit to their range, and would be highly challenging for US midcourse interceptors to counter since they are designed for parabolic ballistic trajectories that have a known range for each flight stage. Thus, an FOBS would be the most formidable target for a BMD network.

In other words, this Chinese innovation will completely upset the apple cart of American missile defense if it becomes operational.

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