By Han Yoon-ji
Dubbed the killer of aircraft carriers, new state-of-the-art cruise missiles may have given China the ability to attack from the distant sea.
The CJ-10 is a land attack cruise missile currently in service with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Second Artillery Corps, a pillar of China's strategic deterrent capability, according to Yonhap News Agency. It is the first of the Changjian, or long sword, series of cruise missiles, boasting a range of 1,500 kilometers and a blast radius of 10 meters.
The first images and video clips of the weapon in action were posted on the China Defense Mashup Web site on July 27, though the missile made its first public appearance during a military parade on Oct. 1, 2009.
According to the site, the CJ-10 effectively increases the deterrent power of the Second Artillery Corps by relying on the second-generation Compass system, which uses advanced guidance technology.
Besides the land attack model, however, a shore-to-ship model has been rumoured to be in the PLA's military service. Hong Kong's Military Connection magazine recently published an article about the widely reported anti-ship ballistic missiles, calling them the Chinese army's trump card.
Many Taiwanese and Hong Kong media sources also believe that the CJ-10 missile was developed to counter the U.S. Navy's carrier battle groups, and pose a serious threat to naval forces.
The Chinese military is also said to have developed the CJ-20, an upgraded version of the CJ-10.