Analysis: China to get SAMs from Russia

Excerpted from http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Analysis_China_to_get_SAMs_from_Russia_999.html

Russia will deliver to China four battalions of 200-kilometer-range S-300PMU2 surface-to-air missiles this summer, the last batch in a series ordered by China. The first batch of four battalions of the same missiles was delivered in July 2007.

Starting in 1993, China received 12 battalions of S-300 SAMs, four of them S-300PMUs and eight S-300PMU1s. This means there are a total of 20 battalions of S-300 SAMs deployed in China. These missiles are expected to play a major role in China's core air defense system.

These missiles now cover the whole of the Chinese coast facing the Taiwan Strait...

In sum, there are five S-300 positions and two HQ-2 positions along the Taiwan Strait, the latter two located at Zhengzhou and Shantou Airports, with altogether 20 S-300 launchers. The No.2 Ground-to-Air Missile Brigade is stationed in this area.

S-300 positions are also found under construction in Beijing and Qingdao. The missiles have been sighted at the Zhonghuabu position near Qingdao, indicating this is the newest S-300 position, probably intended for the deployment of the latest S-300PMU2s. The importance of Qingdao lies in that the S-300s deployed here can be used to provide protection for the PLA Navy's No.1 Nuclear Submarine Base currently under expansion...

A new HQ-9 ground-to-air missile position has been observed at Fangezhuang, indicating that at least two battalions of HQ-9s are now under operational deployment...The deployment of HQ-9s in Beijing means that China's air defense capability has improved greatly, with a network that provides multiple-system, long-range and deep air defense. However, observers outside China have little knowledge of the technical parameters of the HQ-9...

Other S-300 positions have been identified in Dalian and Lushun. This region is given special attention as it occupies a strategically important location; any aerial attacks upon Beijing launched by U.S. forces based on the Korean peninsula would have to go through this region.

Another major city currently protected by S-300 SAMs is of course Shanghai, where the No. 3 Ground-to-Air Missile Brigade is stationed. The Nichung and Minhang S-300 positions to the south of Shanghai are very close to the shore, and are obviously intended to deal with air attacks on Shanghai by Taiwan's tactical air force units in the event of a confrontation...

The layout of the above missile positions reveals to some extent the tactical intentions of the PLA Air Force, that is, to give priority protection to Beijing and the coastal region with its S-300 SAMs. In particular, the air defense network along the coastal region including the Taiwan Strait and Shanghai has been greatly reinforced. A total of 18 S-300 SAM positions have been identified...

Find background information on the S-300 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300.