China has carrier-killer missile, U.S. admiral says

[VengefulIcebox]

By Bill Gertz

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The Washington Times

2:26 p.m., Monday, December 27, 2010

China's military is deploying a new anti-ship ballistic missile that can sink U.S. aircraft carriers, a weapon that specialists say gives Beijing new power-projection capabilities that will affect U.S. support for its Pacific allies.

Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, disclosed to a Japanese newspaper on Sunday that the new anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is now in the early stages of deployment after having undergone extensive testing.

"An analogy using a Western term would be 'initial operational capability (IOC),' whereby I think China would perceive that it has an operational capability now, but they continue to develop it," Adm. Willard told the Asahi Shimbun. "I would gauge it as about the equivalent of a U.S. system that has achieved IOC."

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Wallace "Chip" Gregson, assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said in a speech earlier this month that China's new anti-access and area-denial weapons, including the DF-21D, "threaten our primary means of projecting power: our bases, our sea and air assets, and the networks that support them."

He warned that China's military buildup could "upend the regional security balance."


Link to article

[Chiron]

The carrier sinking missile was known since the OP-3 Orion was forced down in China years ago. It was shadowing a Chinese cruiser that was armed with these. If they upgraded the ordinance that’s another thing but our carriers were threatened at least since the incident with the Orion.