The Republic of China (RoC) Air Force has formally unveil a new anti-ballistic missile system, the Qiang Kung, which was developed to be able to intercept attacks at medium high altitudes. Translating to Strong Bow in English, the system is reportedly currently in production, and was unveiled under three weeks after the mainland’s Chinese People’s Liberation Army revealed multiple new ballistic missile classes in a major parade on September 3. The RoC based in Taipei, Taiwan, claims to be the sole legitimate government of the Chinese nation, placing it a state of civil war with the People’s Republic of China government based in Beijing, with weapons developed by the former being almost exclusively aimed at waging war with the latter. The Qiang Kung system uses a two-stage interceptor, and integrates the RoC’s first indigenous active electronically scanned array radar. The RoC’s defence sector is currently one of very few in the world capable of producing such interceptor systems, with the Qiang Kung’s unveiling closely following the unveiling of the HQ-19 and HQ-29 high altitude anti-ballistic missile systems on the mainland.
A significant uncertainty regarding the new system is whether interceptors carry warheads, or whether they use a hit to kill system like those fired by the American THAAD system. After launch the interceptor is cued to its target via the system’s large trailer-mounted AESA radar, following which the second stage detaches at higher altitudes and switches to its own inbuilt millimeter wave radar seeker, using thrust vectoring to adjust course. The missile has a similar engagement envelope to the Israeli Arrow 2 system, with significant similarities between the two fuelling speculation that Israel may have exported key technologies for its development.
The Republic of China is the only government in the world that actively finances Israeli illegal settlements on UN recognised Palestinian Territories, with Taipei having gone to considerable lengths to strengthen ties with the Western-aligned Middle Eastern country. Although the Republic of China’s lack of international recognition has deterred most states from supplying arms or defence technologies, Israel has supplied missile technologies to its defence sector in the past, including a full set of technologies for the Gabrel Mk I cruise missile which was used to develop the Hsiung Feng I as a direct derivative.