ROC Develops 'Smart' Munitions

[xhw1986]

ROC air force will be armed with “smart” munitions before the year’s end that could be used against any Chinese invasion by striking airfields and harbors on the mainland, media reported Saturday.
The new weaponry, developed under a project codenamed “Wan Chien” (Ten Thousand Swords), is scheduled to be carried by dozens of ROC fighter jets.

The island nation began developing its own smart weapons after the United States — Taiwan’s main arms supplier — refused to sell it guided bombs.

ROC air force plans to upgrade 60 fighters before the year’s end, with the last six being refitted and scheduled to be completed in December, the Taipei-based China Times reported.

The defense ministry declined to comment on the report.

The new weaponry will enable Taiwanese fighter jets to hit Chinese targets from a distance and reduce the risk of having to fly over mainland territory, analysts say.

The weapons, an equivalent of the US-developed joint direct attack munition (JDAM) that converts unguided bombs into all-weather “smart” munitions, is designed to target harbors, missile and radar bases, as well as troop build-ups prior to any invasion of the island, they say.

Each kit carries more than 100 warheads capable of blowing dozens of small craters in airport runways, making them impossible to use, they say.

The China Times said the refusal to sell JDAMs to Taiwan by United States had prompted the island to develop the offensive weapon on its own.

 

[Obambam]

Even with their tiny budget, they can come up with this, so one can only imagine what's lying in wait on the other end of the ocean.

 

[lcloo]

Cluster bomb for airfield bombardment has been around for half a century, a cruise missile with a load of cluster bombs hitting runways can disrupt airfield operations for days.

The advantage of Wan Chien is the stand off distance of launch point. The launch aircraft may be safe from SAM, but not necessary from CAP fighters which can fly at more than thousand of km from the airfield. Also military airfields are protected by its own short and midium range SAM, as well as CIWS like LD-2000 which is specifically tasked to knock down cruise missiles.