Free Beacon:
China recently carried out a flight test of a new anti-satellite missile that highlights the growing threat of Beijing’s space warfare capabilities.
The flight test of the Dong Neng-3 direct ascent missile was tracked by U.S. intelligence agencies on July 23 from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia, in northwestern China, said U.S. defense officials familiar with reports of the launch.
The officials said the launch was not successful and the DN-3 appeared to malfunction in the upper atmosphere after the launch at night.
The launch took place after Chinese authorities posted a notice to airlines to avoid flying near the flight path of the missile. The missile’s flight was captured in photographs and video by several Chinese internet users near the Jiuquan facility.
Despite the failure, China’s space warfare program is said to be advancing rapidly as an asymmetric warfare weapon that will allow a less capable Chinese military to defeat the U.S. military in a future conflict.
The Pentagon’s annual report on the Chinese military states that in December the Chinese created a new Strategic Support Force that will unify space, cyber, and electronic warfare capabilities…
