China showcases fearsome new missiles to counter US at military parade

Wednesday, 2 October 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Beijing (Reuters): China’s military on Tuesday showed off new equipment at a parade in central Beijing to mark 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, including hypersonic-glide missiles that experts say could be difficult for the United States to counter.

In a speech at the start of the nearly three-hour, highly choreographed spectacle, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his country would stay on the path of “peaceful development,” but that the military would resolutely safeguard the country’s sovereignty and security.

China says the parade, the country’s most important political event of the year, which featured more than 15,000 troops marching through part of Tiananmen Square as jet fighters trailing coloured smoke soared overhead, is not meant to intimidate any specific country.

But defence experts see it as a message to the world that China’s military prowess is growing rapidly, even as it faces mounting challenges, including months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong and a slowing economy.

As expected, China unveiled new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and showcased its advancing intercontinental and hypersonic missiles, designed to attack the aircraft carriers and bases that undergird US military strength in Asia.

A state television announcer called the missile arsenal a “force for realising the dream of a strong nation and strong military.” Among the weapons were the “carrier killer” Dongfeng-21D (DF-21D), unveiled at military parade in 2015, designed to hit warships at sea at a range of up to 1,500 kilometres, and the DF-26 intermediate range missile, dubbed “Guam killer” in reference to the US Pacific island base.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) also rolled out a hypersonic missile, known as the DF-17, which theoretically can manoeuvre sharply at many times the speed of sound, making it extremely difficult to counter.

China showed jets in aerial refuelling formation, and the Z-20 medium lift helicopter, similar to a US UH-60 Black Hawk, also made its public debut, Xinhua said.