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AllAfrica
2 days ago
- Politics
- AllAfrica
China reveals DF-100 missile in response to US encirclement
This month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that China released rare new DF-100 footage as part of a People's Liberation Army (PLA) documentary marking the force's 98th anniversary, offering fresh visual cues on the supersonic cruise missile's specifications and strategic reach. The two-minute video shows the DF-100 operating during a cable communications exercise simulating full-spectrum jamming, reinforcing the archetype: a fast, long-range strike platform meant to arrive in waves and overwhelm layered defenses across the First and Second Island chains before they can react. Technically, the system slots into China's strike portfolio as a high-speed standoff weapon. The DF-100, first unveiled in 2019, is credited with a 3,000–4,000-kilometer range, a Mach 4 cruising speed and high strike accuracy, enabling time-on-target hits within 40 minutes. Those capabilities, if accurate and realized, bring US bases in Okinawa and Guam and key logistics hubs in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea into the weapon's target range. The DF-100 can launch from road-mobile vehicles or the H-6N bomber, with air launch extending reach to roughly 6,000 kilometers. Footage highlighting a sharp conical warhead and oversized tail fins suggests maneuver authority and penetration potential, while the urban launch scene telegraphs mobility and survivability in cluttered terrain. As a class, supersonic standoff munitions occupy a purposeful middle ground. In a November 2020 War on the Rocks article, David Zikusoka notes that weapons flying between Mach 1 and Mach 5 balance speed, cost and survivability, arriving faster than subsonic cruise missiles and striking time-sensitive targets in minutes without the nuclear ambiguity of ballistic or hypersonic trajectories. Zikusoka adds that, while not invulnerable, this speed envelope complicates interception timelines and compresses decision cycles, particularly when used in coordinated salvos that strain radar tracking and fire-control loops. The DF-100's value also lies in how it can be teamed with ballistic missile fires. The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) mentions in a November 2020 report that the DF-100 does not extend China's geographic reach beyond existing ballistic systems, but it enables simultaneous time-on-target salvos alongside DF-21 or DF-26 missiles, forcing defenders to counter different flight profiles at once. That complexity amplifies a preexisting problem. Asia Times has previously noted that Guam's disjointed air and missile defense architecture may be insufficient against saturation attacks mixing drones, ballistic missiles and supersonic and subsonic cruise missiles with hypersonic gliders—an attack geometry designed to exhaust interceptors and create exploitable gaps. US magazine depth and reload constraints magnify that risk. Greg Hayden mentions in an April 2025 CIRIS article that even sophisticated US missile defenses can be emptied quickly by China's expanding arsenal because interceptor stockpiles are limited. Hayden points out that at-sea reloading delays for Aegis-equipped warships can sideline launchers for hours or days, while production bottlenecks and single-source dependencies hinder rapid replenishment. He also adds that without at-sea reloading and genuine surge manufacturing, US missile defenses could collapse in a high-intensity fight as shot doctrine collides with inventory reality. Yet China's precision fire is only as deadly as its ability to find, fix and finish targets at scale, and that is where its system-level vulnerability sits. General Chance Saltzman highlighted in an April 2025 hearing before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission that the PLA's precision strike enterprise leans heavily on more than 500 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites—optical, radar and radiofrequency (RF)—to build a space-enabled targeting network capable of holding US and allied forces at risk. Saltzman mentioned that these assets are inherently vulnerable due to predictable orbits and limited defensive measures, stressing that degrading China's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) backbone could blunt its long-range strike capability by breaking the cueing chain that missiles like the DF-100 require. The timing and tone of the DF-100's showcase also fit a signaling pattern tied to US missile placements along China's periphery. In September 2024, China conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in 44 years, a move that coincided with the announcement that month of the indefinite US Typhon missile deployment in the Philippines. The Typhon launcher can fire SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles, the latter capable of striking mainland targets. Following the Typhon deployment, the US indefinitely stationed the shorter-ranged Navy/Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) in the Philippines, with plans unveiled this month to deploy NMESIS in Japan as well. The DF-100's supersonic speed maps neatly to time-sensitive, high-value mobile targets such as Typhon and NMESIS, threatening to kill them before they can fire or relocate—an effect that increases confidence in preemption while inviting counter-preemption. This US deployment pattern is read in Beijing as part of a broader containment scheme. In a January 2024 report for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Veerle Nouwens and other writers mention that Chinese analysts perceive US plans to field land-based missiles across the First and Second Island Chains as a direct challenge to China's strategic mobility and posture. According to Nouwens and others, these forward deployments are seen as a deliberate attempt to undermine China's anti-access/area-denial systems and threaten inland facilities. They note that, in response, Chinese strategists anticipate China will substantially increase its land-based missile deployments—conventional and nuclear—to counter the perceived encirclement. Capacity-wise, the PLA Rocket Force remains the backbone of that response. In a June 2025 US Senate Committee on Appropriations statement, ranking US officials mentioned that the PLARF is pressing ahead with modernization to deepen strategic deterrence. According to the statement, the PLARF possesses over 900 short-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Taiwan; 400 ground-launched cruise missiles able to hit targets across the entire First Island Chain; 1,300 medium-range ballistic missiles that cover the Second Island Chain; 500 intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can strike parts of Alaska and Australia; and more than 400 nuclear-capable ICBMs with global reach. Those numbers, combined with road mobility and decoys, illustrate how volume and variety can saturate defenses and create dilemmas at sea and ashore. But order-of-battle size is not the same as combat credibility. While acknowledging rapid modernization, Eamon Passey points out in a December 2024 article for the American Foreign Policy Council that the PLARF still suffers persistent capability gaps that undercut deterrence. Passey mentions that China has added dual-capable platforms and expanded joint training, but systemic weaknesses endure: a shortage of battle-tested personnel, unrealistic training scenarios, and poor-quality conscripts that limit operational credibility. In addition, Passey notes that corruption concerns further erode institutional integrity, complicating reform and readiness at precisely the moment China is attempting to knit sensors, shooters and command networks into a high-velocity kill web. Whether meant as a warning or a performance, the DF-100's reemergence signals that the next Pacific missile duel may hinge less on who fires first than on who can keep finding, hitting and sustaining the missile fight.
Axios
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Consider these factors as the Pentagon dissects AUKUS
Everyone has an AUKUS take. Why it matters: The landmark defense pact — designed to arm Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. with nuclear-powered submarines and cutting-edge tech, including hypersonic weapons and electronic jammers — is today navigating choppy waters. Driving the news: The Pentagon's policy office, led by Elbridge Colby, last week announced that by fall it would conclude its "America First" examination of the initiative, which rolled out during the Biden administration. Colby has expressed AUKUS skepticism in the past, namely over resource allocation, but in March said Washington should "do everything we can to make this work." The big picture: As the review proceeds, consider these factors: Shipbuilding shortfalls. The U.S. struggles to construct, maintain and retrofit warships. The Government Accountability Office catalogues it. The Navy cops to it, too. Adm. Daryl Caudle, a career submariner turned chief of naval operations, last month told Congress the "delivery pace is not where it needs to be to make good on Pillar I of the AUKUS agreement." Pumping out the requisite two-plus Virginia-class subs per year, he added, demands "transformational improvement. Not a 10% improvement. Not 20%. A 100% improvement." Actual application. How the Trump administration perceives Australia's commitment to using the subs, and to countering China, could make or break a ruling. "They've been very coy about how they would actually employ the submarines, other than to say, 'Well, it's a deterrent, it could be employed to defend Australia,'" Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Axios. "You've got to be willing to say that you would use it offensively if you want to gain the deterrent value out of it," he said, "because China could come away thinking Australia is going to buy these submarines, but they don't have the resolve to use them." Odds Down Under. Almost two-thirds of Australians surveyed in a recent Guardian poll thought it was unlikely the U.S. would deliver subs. And 41% of the voters thought the deal would not affect the country's security. Canberra in July cut a $525 million AUKUS check. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denied in a television interview that it was an "extra" fee, insisting it was part of the "schedule of payments to be made." "It's about increasing their industrial capacity," he said. Pillar II obscurity. Sub construction — or lack thereof — dominates headlines. Comparably less ink has been spilled on the co-development of defense tech like AI, autonomy and hypersonic countermeasures. Articles published by War on the Rocks in June and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute last year put it succinctly: Pillar II has a public relations problem. Policy and export reform isn't as attractive as novel weapons and their delivery. "The matter at hand — sophisticated, trilaterally supported innovation — seems to be unfurling lethargically," Peter Dean and Alice Nason argued in their War on the Rocks piece. Common ground. A U.K. government spokesperson told Axios it "is understandable that a new administration would want to review its approach to such a major partnership, just as the U.K. did last year." Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Trump have recently traded compliments, which could bode well for AUKUS. What we're hearing: The trilateral agreement will survive, but perhaps in a somewhat different form and with a less optimistic timetable. "I infer that the administration is pro-AUKUS," one defense industry executive told Axios. "I think, internally, ' the Blob ' is trying to portray it to Trump as a big, beautiful trade deal." "Everyone knows the sub industrial base is stressed, though." The bottom line: The AUKUS anxiety is legit. The ongoing review is additional evidence nothing is sacred under Trump 2.0.
Business Insider
26-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Defense companies need to 'quit trying to sell us pieces of the puzzle' and work together, says top US general
US defense firms need to "stop selling us pieces of the puzzle" and work more closely together to counter threats around areas like drones and Artificial Intelligence, a top US general said. Gen. Jim Rainey, the head of Army Futures Command, discussed emerging threats and the US military's capacity to counter them in an episode of the War on the Rocks podcast, released on Wednesday. The deployment of AI in warfare and drones are "the biggest two places we need to close the ground quickly," he said. Rainey identified technologies like microwaves, lasers, and electronic warfare as ways to counter these threats, but said weak spots remained and called for the defense industry to "self-organize" to identify solutions. "What we really need is people to quit trying to sell us pieces of the puzzle, and somebody to pull that team together with the sum of those capabilities," he said. Drones have emerged as a key weapon in the war in Ukraine, where both Russia and Ukraine have used them for surveillance and fitted them with bombs to be used as remotely-controlled explosives. China and the US are also experimenting with sophisticated AI-enabled drones that can operate independently of human control, including some that can be deployed as part of a "swarm," operating autonomously and in coordination. The Pentagon has been urgently seeking ways to combat drones, with then-US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin releasing a counter-drone strategy in December. Private sector companies, including the likes of California-based Anduril, are also rolling out new tech solutions. In his remarks, Rainey called for "a bunch of companies to come together, go find the best high-power microwave guy or two, get the best radar people," and then bring them together into an "integrated, data-centric AI-driven capability."
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The US Army is showing soldiers what they look like from the air so that they can better hide from drones
The US Army is watching the unfolding drone war in Ukraine and using it to inform its training. Army leadership is teaching new soldiers how to react to drones in the early stages of training. One way that they're doing this is using drones to film soldiers so they know how to hide better. The US Army is watching the drone war in Ukraine and thinking up innovative ways to teach new soldiers how they can survive this threat in future fights. One way the Army is preparing soldiers is by filming recruits in basic training from above and then showing them the footage to assess their ability to hide from a potential enemy. "What you learn from what's occurring in Ukraine is you cannot move without being seen," Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said during an episode of the "War on the Rocks" podcast last month, adding that the military needs to be "leaner" and better at hiding. Driscoll said that he had recently visited South Carolina's Fort Jackson, one of four main bases where the Army does basic combat training, and saw leadership put drones in the sky to survey troops below. "These are for soldiers that have been in for seven weeks, and they are showing them, 'Hey, this is what you look like from the air. You have either done a good job providing top cover and camouflage, or you have not,'" Driscoll said. "At the end of each of their exercises, they go review the drone footage, which was just incredible to see." The exercise gives US soldiers a small taste of the battlefield in Ukraine, where troops on both sides are under the constant watchful eye of small, quadcopter drones that could suddenly turn deadly by dropping explosives below or flying into a target and detonating. Like other branches of the military, the Army recognizes the seriousness of the drone threat and acknowledges that uncrewed systems are changing warfare. It is trying to keep pace with the speed of innovation, accelerated as Ukraine and Russia race to introduce new technology and innovations onto the battlefield. With drones poised to play an increasingly significant role in future conflicts, the Army is coming to terms with how to ensure new generations of soldiers are prepared to meet the threat environment. Lt. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the Army's Center for Initial Military Training, told Business Insider in an interview this month that one of the most "significant things" his program has done is introduce drones into basic training to train new recruits on how to react to this technology. Francis said that the idea is to get these civilians-turned-soldiers to think about the battlefield as a three-dimensional space and expose them to the new threat that they'd likely face in future combat scenarios. The Army introduced drone training at all of its training centers over 18 months ago. Beyond Fort Jackson, these sites include Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Lt. Col. Stephen Deuble, commander of 2nd Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Benning, said the base has greatly scaled up its drone training after recognizing the major role they play in combat. Previously, new recruits received a brief overview on drones that lasted only a few hours; now, they receive over 50 hours of training. The extensive training "reinforces that concept that the enemy is not just in front of you, but you have to look up, and they're in the air domain," Deuble told BI. He said that drones are used at Fort Benning in a teaching role and as an after-action tool similar to what Driscoll observed at Fort Jackson. Training is sometimes designed to be complex. At Fort Benning, for instance, leadership isn't just exposing soldiers to a small drone flying in the air — they are combining it with a realistic battlefield scenario, such as simulating a precision drone strike on an armored vehicle. Watching the Ukraine war, Francis said that the Army is learning that its soldiers could be facing "constant surveillance" and the consistent threat of indirect fire from armed drones or artillery in a conflict of their own. For these reasons, he said, it's important that US troops are learning early on how to be aware and resilient on the battlefield. "Knowing that you're always being watched — it takes a toll on folks," he said. "We are increasing the rigor in our basic training right now to provide that resiliency that it's going to take to operate in an environment where you are constantly under threat." Teaching soldiers how to respond to drones is one of the many ways that the military is taking lessons learned from the Ukraine war and using them to inform training. The US has also put more attention on counter-drone efforts and using drones for offensive missions. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
The US Army is showing soldiers what they look like from the air so that they can better hide from drones
The US Army is watching the drone war in Ukraine and thinking up innovative ways to teach new soldiers how they can survive this threat in future fights. One way the Army is preparing soldiers is by filming recruits in basic training from above and then showing them the footage to assess their ability to hide from a potential enemy. "What you learn from what's occurring in Ukraine is you cannot move without being seen," Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said during an episode of the "War on the Rocks" podcast last month, adding that the military needs to be "leaner" and better at hiding. Driscoll said that he had recently visited South Carolina's Fort Jackson, one of four main bases where the Army does basic combat training, and saw leadership put drones in the sky to survey troops below. "These are for soldiers that have been in for seven weeks, and they are showing them, 'Hey, this is what you look like from the air. You have either done a good job providing top cover and camouflage, or you have not,'" Driscoll said. "At the end of each of their exercises, they go review the drone footage, which was just incredible to see." The exercise gives US soldiers a small taste of the battlefield in Ukraine, where troops on both sides are under the constant watchful eye of small, quadcopter drones that could suddenly turn deadly by dropping explosives below or flying into a target and detonating. Like other branches of the military, the Army recognizes the seriousness of the drone threat and acknowledges that uncrewed systems are changing warfare. It is trying to keep pace with the speed of innovation, accelerated as Ukraine and Russia race to introduce new technology and innovations onto the battlefield. With drones poised to play an increasingly significant role in future conflicts, the Army is coming to terms with how to ensure new generations of soldiers are prepared to meet the threat environment. Lt. Gen. David Francis, commanding general of the Army's Center for Initial Military Training, told Business Insider in an interview this month that one of the most "significant things" his program has done is introduce drones into basic training to train new recruits on how to react to this technology. Francis said that the idea is to get these civilians-turned-soldiers to think about the battlefield as a three-dimensional space and expose them to the new threat that they'd likely face in future combat scenarios. The Army introduced drone training at all of its training centers over 18 months ago. Beyond Fort Jackson, these sites include Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Sill in Oklahoma, and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Lt. Col. Stephen Deuble, commander of 2nd Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Benning, said the base has greatly scaled up its drone training after recognizing the major role they play in combat. Previously, new recruits received a brief overview on drones that lasted only a few hours; now, they receive over 50 hours of training. The extensive training "reinforces that concept that the enemy is not just in front of you, but you have to look up, and they're in the air domain," Deuble told BI. He said that drones are used at Fort Benning in a teaching role and as an after-action tool similar to what Driscoll observed at Fort Jackson. Training is sometimes designed to be complex. At Fort Benning, for instance, leadership isn't just exposing soldiers to a small drone flying in the air — they are combining it with a realistic battlefield scenario, such as simulating a precision drone strike on an armored vehicle. Watching the Ukraine war, Francis said that the Army is learning that its soldiers could be facing "constant surveillance" and the consistent threat of indirect fire from armed drones or artillery in a conflict of their own. For these reasons, he said, it's important that US troops are learning early on how to be aware and resilient on the battlefield. "Knowing that you're always being watched — it takes a toll on folks," he said. "We are increasing the rigor in our basic training right now to provide that resiliency that it's going to take to operate in an environment where you are constantly under threat." Teaching soldiers how to respond to drones is one of the many ways that the military is taking lessons learned from the Ukraine war and using them to inform training. The US has also put more attention on counter-drone efforts and using drones for offensive missions.
