Russian Technological Assistance
The latest Surface–to-Air Missile (SAM) systems deployed by China have successfully intercepted short range ballistic missiles, using in-service Russian components, and Russian technical assistance. Assisted by Russian technicians, late last year in Xinjiang, the People’s Liberation Army successfully intercepted an SRBM during operational testing of one of its Almaz-Antey supplied S-300PMU-2 / SA-20B Gargoyle SAM systems.2
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-NOTAM-140110-1.html
Of the SAM systems operated by China, the S-300PMU-2 has the best chance of intercepting a SRBM missile as it employs the 48N6E2 missile, which has a warhead optimised for destroying ballistic missiles, and numerous necessary radar design optimisations. All Chinese land based S-300P series SAM systems use variants of the 64N6E Big Bird rotating phased array battle management radar, which can acquire and track ballistic missiles. When employed in its ballistic missile defense (BMD) modes, the radar antenna rotation is stopped, the antenna is mechanically tilted upward, and the radar employs electronic steering of the antenna beam within a fixed angular sector.
Chinese SAM sites also employ the 36D6/ST-68U Tin Shield series, and more recently, also the new aelf-propelled 96L6E air defence and early warning radar, which supplement the more powerful 64N6, ensuring aerial target coverage is not lost when the 64N6 is operating in BMD mode.
Terminal guidance of S-300PMU2 missiles against ballistic targets is by Track-Via-Missile (TVM), utilising the 30N6E2 X-band space feed phased array illumination and guidance radar. This design is conceptually similar to the AN/MPQ-53 phased array radar used by the United States MIM-104 Patriot SAM system, but superior in key antenna design features.3