| Country: |
Taiwan |
| Alternate Name: |
Sky Halberd |
| Class: |
BSRBM |
| Basing: |
Surface based |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 90 kg |
| Warhead: |
HE |
| Range: |
120 km |
| Status: |
Operational |
Details
The Tien Chi project involves the creation of a 300 km range missile with a 500 kg payload. It may be a redesigned Tien Kung 2 (Sky Bow 2). However, there was a 120 km missile that was developed before the 300 km missile. The 120 km missile has a length of 8.0 m, a diameter of 0.41m and a launch weight of 1,150 kg.
There may be 15 to 50 missiles off the coast of China. It is difficult to determine whether these reports refer to the Ti Ching, Tien Chi or Tien Ma programs.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 172.
U.S. Army Activates X-Band Radar in Northern Japan
September 28, 2006 :: AP :: News
The U.S. Army has now activated an X-band radar in northern Japan to track regional ballistic missiles. On Tuesday, September 26, Brigadier General John E. Seward hosted a ceremony at Camp Shariki in the northern Aomori state to activate the X-Band radar. The system was moved earlier this summer from the U.S. military’s Misawa Air Base in Misawa, also in northern Japan. The two nations began working on the radar in 1998 after North Korea fired a Taep’o-dong 1 ballistic missile over northern Japan. The powerful X-band radar can identify objects from thousands of miles away and is designed to differentiate between decoys and real missile warheads. It is part of an ongoing U.S. and Japanese collaboration on missile defense that includes the joint production of sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptors capable of destroying incoming missiles and the deployment of land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors around Japan. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, Japan, North Korea
» Missile details: Tien Chi
» Missile system details for: Forward-Based X-Band Radar-Transportable, Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
Japan and U.S. Expand Missile Defense Pact
June 23, 2006 :: Washington Post :: News
The U.S. and Japan have signed an agreement to expand cooperation on a joint ballistic missile defense system. The additional pact comes amid concerns that North Korea might test-launch a Taep’o-dong 2 long-range missile. Signed by U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, the agreement commits the two countries to the joint production of interceptor missiles, and allows for the transfer of ballistic missile defense technology from Japan to the U.S.. The technology transfer issue is a sensitive one in Japan, which has long adhered to a self-imposed ban on arms exports.
The agreement is said to have actually been reached by both countries last year, and today’s signing is seen by many as a warning to North Korea, whose 1998 test-launch of a Taep’o-dong 1 medium-range missile over northern Japan served as Tokyo’s primary impetus for pursuing missile defense in the first place. Political and military analysts also say that in the long term, the primary U.S. and Japanese motivation for the expansion of a joint ballistic missile defense shield is fear over the potential threat posed by China. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Japan, Policy
» Missile details: Tien Chi, Tien Ma 1
» Missile system details for: Japanese Ballistic Missile Defense
U.S., Japan, Keep Watch on Possible North Korea Missile Moves
June 1, 2006 :: AP :: News
The U.S. and Japan have detected signs that North Korea is almost ready to test-launch a Taepo-dong-2 long-range ballistic missile. According to the Japanese Sankei newspaper, the U.S. has dispatched a spy plane and Japan has sent a destroyer with advanced reconnaissance equipment and an attack aircraft loaded with radar-jamming electronics to gather information. The report also quoted a South Korean intelligence official as saying that his agency learned of Pyongyang’s preparations for a missile launch through sources other than satellite photos. Two weeks ago, Japanese media reported that North Korea had moved a “missile-like object” over 30 meters in length to a test site in the North Hamgyong Province. The missile was most likely the Taepo-dong-2, which is 32 meters long and has a range of between 4,300 and 6,000 km. (Article, Link)
» May 19, 2006: Activity Reported at North Korean Taepo-dong Missile Site
» More stories on: Japan, North Korea, South Korea
» Missile details: Tien Chi, Tien Ma 1
Activity Reported at North Korean Taepo-dong Missile Site
May 19, 2006 :: News
North Korea has transported a Taepo-dong missile to a base in northeastern North Korea, reports Japan’s Kyodo news agency. U.S. and South Korean satellites captured movements of trailers carrying a “missile-like object” over 30 meters in length to a test site at Musudan-ri, Hwadae-gun, in the North Hamgyong Province. The missile is said to be most likely a Taepo-dong-2, 32 meters long with a range of between 4,300 and 6,000 km. There is the possibility that the missile could be the longer-range Taepo-dong-2 upgrade that could be capable of striking Alaska. The Kyodo report quotes Japanese government sources as saying that a test launch could be imminent, but other sources have expressed both doubt and uncertainty. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea
» Missile details: Tien Chi, Tien Ma 1
Russia Aided North Korean Export Missiles
September 20, 2003 :: Geostrategy-Direct :: News
Russia aided North Korea’s Taepo’ Dong missile development, reports Geostrategy-Direct. The Taepo-Dong may well have been a copy of the Russian SS-N-6, or R-27. Iran is the most likely client to purchase Taepo’ Dongs, when they become available. China has also been using North Korea as a front to export missiles. “Although China recently issued updated regulations on the export of chemical and biological agents, as well as missile-related export controls, full implementation and effective enforcement are still lacking,” Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. “We continue to see disturbing cases of proliferation activities by certain Chinese firms.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, North Korea, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-17, Tien Chi, Tien Ma 1
Japan Pushing for Defenses
August 12, 2003 :: Sioux City Journal :: News
The Japanese Defense Agency is planning a budget request of $1.2 billion for the development of a dual-layered missile defense system, a sum up from the $132 million allocated last year for research. The spike of attention comes amidst increased stirrings from North Korea, which test launched their Taepo’ dong I missile over the main Japanese island in 1998, and have since been making noise about a miniaturized nuclear weapons program. A recent white paper by the Japanese Defense Agency called missile defense a “pressing need,” and identified North Korea as a major and growing threat.
The proposed Japanese system would combine state-of-the-art Aegis cruisiers, with a sea-based boost-phase or midcourse-phase component, with a newer version of the Patriot missile, designed to intercept missile warheads in their terminal phase as they reenter the atmosphere toward their target. Japan currently has around 27 batteries of the PAC-2 version of the Patriot, but these are limited to interceting missiles with a range and speed significantly less than the longer-reaching (and thus more quickly moving) Taepo’ Dongs. (Article, Link)
» Japanese Defense Agency white paper cites need for missile defenses
» More stories on: Allies
» Missile details: Tien Chi
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD, Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2)
