| Country: |
Taiwan |
| Alternate Name: |
Sky Horse |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Surface based |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 350 kg |
| Warhead: |
HE |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage solid |
| Range: |
950 km |
| Status: |
Terminated |
Details
The Tien Ma missile program was designed to create a short-range, ground based, solid propellant missile. It was initially started in 1993 to extend the Republic of China (ROC)’s defense of Taiwan to inland of the Chinese mainland. The program was cancelled soon after it began because of technical problems, but then restarted in 1996 after the threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began to escalate. The program was however permanently abandoned in 2000 after the technology for use in the Tien Ma was outmoded. In 2005 there were reports that Taiwan was developing 120 MRBM with a 1,000 km range missile; there is some confusion about whether the reports refer to the Ti Ching, Tien Chi or the Tien Ma programs. It is denied denied by the Defense Ministry.
The Tien Ma 1 missile was designed to allow strikes against the mainland of the PRC. The range would have allowed for attacks against PRC cities and inland military targets. The payload is reasonable for use against military targets, but insufficient against population centers. The ROC currently relies upon the United States for its deterrent, so the development of this capability would not fit into ROC missile doctrine. It is probable that the weapon would have been used with powerful high explosive warheads against strategic targets in military and civilian areas, such as command bases, power plants and airfields. ROC guidance technology is sufficiently advanced to be able to strike these targets and successfully undermine the PRC military’s ability to undertake an invasion.
The missile project has probably been replaced, but the ROC maintains extensive secrecy around its missile systems in the face of a likely communist invasion. The Tien Ma 1 was intended to have a range of 950 km (590 miles) and a payload of 350 kg. The concept called for a two-stage solid propellant rocket, capable of being readily fired. It is probably road mobile, to allow for faster deployment. It is likely the program replacing the Tien Ma has similar capabilities.(1)
Footnotes
- Robert Karniol, “Taiwan develops next-generation strike missiles,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 October 2000; Wendell Minnick, “Taiwan has no Tien Ma ballistic missiles,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 23 September 2002; Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 173.
Hwang: Direct Talks with North Korea Would Reward “Manipulation and Brinksmanship”
June 20, 2006 :: The Heritage Foundation :: News
Balbina Y. Hwang, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, argues that the U.S. must not reward North Korea’s “manipulation and brinksmanship.” By threatening to test-launch its Taep’o-dong 2 long-range missile, Pyongyang is attempting to force Washington to engage in direct bilateral talks. “The United States has been clear that all diplomatic negotiations must go through the Six-Party framework involving North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Russia, Japan, and China,” she writes. “The Bush Administration should make clear that aggressive behavior by the North Koreans will not cause the United States to alter its position.” Rather than succumbing to Pyongyang’s belligerent behavior, Washington should keep the military option on the table, and make it clear to the North Korean leadership that it will shoot down the missile with ground-based interceptors. Hwang adds that if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch, Washington should bring North Korea’s aggression before the U.N. Security Council. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, North Korea, Policy
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
Gaffney Warns of North Korean EMP Attack, Calls for Increased Missile Defense
June 20, 2006 :: National Review Online :: Analysis
Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy, warns in National Review Online that the U.S. remains vulnerable to an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) attack from North Korea. If North Korea were to detonate a nuclear warhead high in the atmosphere above the U.S., the resulting burst of immensely powerful energy would devastate nearly every form of electrical system in the nation. In 2004, a blue-ribbon commission tasked by Congress with assessing the EMP threat found that it could have a “catastrophic” effect, possibly reducing the U.S. to a pre-industrial society. The commission noted that an EMP could be delivered with a “relatively unsophisticated missile,” and named North Korea as one of the states that could be seeking such a capability. In his article, Gaffney calls upon the U.S. to “make a redoubled effort to deploy effective, comprehensive defenses against ballistic missiles that might be used for EMP and other attacks.” He urges the Pentagon to augment the modest ground-based systems in Alaska and California, in particular with increased sea-based defenses that could shoot down North Korean missiles at various points in their flight path. (Article, Link)
» July 22, 2004: EMP Commission Report Points to Need for Missile Defense
» More stories on: Analysis, Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Weapons, North Korea
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
Missile Defense System Declared “Operational”
June 20, 2006 :: Washington Times :: News
The U.S. ground-based interceptor missile defense system is now said to be operational, as North Korea prepares to test launch its Taep’o-dong 2 ballistic missile. The defensive system currently consists of 11 ground-based interceptor missiles, nine deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. In addition, two Navy Aegis warships are on patrol near North Korea and would be among the first sensors that could trigger the use of the ground-based interceptors. The ground-based interceptors appear to constitute the only defense against the North Korean missiles, which are capable of striking the continental U.S. If the Aegis ships in the Sea of Japan contain Standard Missile interceptors in addition to their radars and tracking sensors, this has not been publicly announced. It is not clear if the announcement is of permanent operational capability, or if it is rather keeping with previous announcements of limited and intermittent operational capability, on special alert given North Korea’s apparent missile fueling.
The GMD missile system was switched from test to operational mode within the past two weeks, according to various defense sources. The Washington Times cites a senior Bush administration official as stating that the White House is currently considering how to proceed if and when the Taep’o-dong 2 were to be launched. A decision to shoot down the missile would be made at the highest command levels, which includes the president, secretary of defense, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has stated that a North Korean launch would be a serious matter and “would be taken with utmost seriousness and indeed a provocative act.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Deployment, North Korea, Policy
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
» Missile system details for: Fort Greely, Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Vandenberg Air Force Base
McCain on North Korea, Suggests Role for China
June 20, 2006 :: Financial Times :: News
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, recently discussed the threat from North Korea in an interview with the Financial Times. In particular, McCain warned of possible regional destabilization between Japan and China if North Korea goes ahead with its test launch of its Taep’o-dong 2 long-range ballistic missile.
We all know what happens if they [North Korea] continue to make this kind of progress and that is the Japanese will acquire missile defence systems and eventually will have to acquire offensive weapons which we know they could readily do given the technology capability they have. The key to all this as we all know is China. It seems to me it is not in China’s interest to see this kind of destabilisation. They’re doing very well and exacerbation of tensions in the region cannot be in their interest. So why they don’t put more pressure on the dear leader is something I simply do not understand. … Depending on what we find out about what North Korea is doing and what its intentions are, we have to ratchet up the importance of the issue in our relationship [with China].
McCain also reiterated his previous opposition to the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework, in which North Korea was provided with 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually, at no cost, in exchange for suspending its nuclear program. The Framework, supported by the Clinton administration, was and still is viewed by many as blackmail on the part of North Korea, and appeasement on the part of the U.S. According to McCain, the program was “neither verifiable nor enforceable,” and did not do much except “maybe put a billion dollars into the Korean coffers.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Japan, North Korea
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
North Korea Said Readying Taep’o-dong 2 for Test Launch
June 19, 2006 :: New York Times :: News
North Korea has completed fueling a Taep’o-dong 2 long-range ballistic missile, greatly increasing the probability that it will go ahead with its first major test launch in eight years. On Sunday, U.S. officials reported that satellite photographs of a launch site on North Korea’s eastern coast suggested that liquid-fuel tanks had been fitted to the missile. Fueling is a late step in the preparations for a liquid-fueled missile launch. U.S. officials and analysts regard the move as a leading indicator of North Korea’s intentions. Reports also indicate that booster rockets have been loaded onto the launch pad.
North Korea has not conducted a major test launch since August 1998, when it fired a Taep’o-dong 1 missile over Japan. In 1999, North Korea agreed to a moratorium on long-range missile testing, which it has maintained, although in the past year there were indications that North Korea had declared itself no longer bound by that moratorium. Yet five weeks ago, U.S. officials received satellite images indicating that North Korea was preparing to test the three-stage Taep’o-dong 2. The first stage is believed to be a cluster of No-dong missiles, which are single-stage, shorter-range rockets; the second stage is likely a No-dong missile; the third would probably be solid-fueled. U.S. officials believe that North Korea has enough plutonium for at least half a dozen nuclear weapons and has already produced a small but growing nuclear arsenal.
If North Korea launches the Taep’o-dong 2, with a range possibly sufficient to reach the continental U.S., the consequences could be tremendous. The New York Times comments that the result could be “a political chain reaction in Japan, the United States, and China,” the three nations that have been trying to re-engage North Korea in stalled talks about its nuclear weapons program. The U.S. and Japan might step up financing and efforts for ballistic missile defenses, and Japanese politicians might even push to reconsider their nation’s nuclear weapons policy. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
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
General Bell to Armed Services: North Korea Preparing Three Stage Taepo Dong
March 8, 2006 :: Kyodo :: News
North Korea continues to develop a three-stage Taepodong missile that could target the contintental U.S. In written testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, stated Tuesday that this new missile “could be operational within the next decade.” He noted that Pyongyang maintained a “fairly active program” to develop and test the missile up through the late 1990s, although there has been less activity in recent years. However, Bell added that “there’s no doubt in my mind that they have the capability to begin more technological investigation and to begin a regiment to lead to testing and potentially to lead to fielding.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea
» Missile details: 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
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