- WASHINGTON (UPI) -- China
has deployed Israeli-made anti-radar weapons opposite Taiwan, the Washington
Times reported Tuesday.
-
- U.S. intelligence spotted several Israeli-made "Harpy"
drone weapons engaged in large-scale exercises in southern Fujian province
opposite
- Taiwan, the Times quoted defense officials as saying.
-
- "The Chinese were observed moving them close to
the coast," one official said.
- The official declined to say how many weapons had been
seen.
-
- The Harpy, a pilotless drone weapon equipped with anti-radar
sensors and a bomb, flies near a target radar for up to two hours and when
illuminated by electronic waves is guided to the target and explodes.
-
- Intelligence officials told the Times China's Harpys
had anti-radar bomb systems.
-
- China has been engaged in large-scale military exercises
near Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.
Israeli and CIA officials refused to comment on the Times report.
-
- According to the Times, the propeller-driven Harpy system
has a 6-foot wingspan and is 7 feet long. It can loiter over a target for
more than 2 hours before attacking. It has a range of up to 210 miles
and a high-explosive warhead weighing about 48 pounds.
- Last week, Beijing test-fired a new Russian-made air-to-air
missile, which gives China a new edge in its standoff with Taiwan.
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- Copyright © 2002 United Press International
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