Duncan Lennox Editor, Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems
London
China Aerospace Sciences and Technology Corporation (CASIC) has displayed for the first time a new version of the B-611 short-range ballistic missile, under development since 1995.
The solid propellant B-611 seems to have been designed for low-cost tactical army use, with a range limited to 250 km. It will likely replaceme the M-11 (CSS-7) that entered service in 1992. It may have the NATO designation CSS-X-11 and was first displayed in 2003.
The B-611 has used an 8 x 8 wheeled launcher vehicle similar to that used by the WS-2 multiple-launch rocket system, which could provide a logistics advantage. The missile is believed to be capable of flying on a depressed trajectory and of manoeuvring in-flight to change the trajectory in azimuth and range.
The missile has a length of 6 m, a body diameter of 0.4 m and weighs 1,200 kg at launch. The warhead weight is reported to be 480 kg and this can be high-explosive (HE) fragmentation or submunitions. The minimum range is 80 km and the maximum 150 km, but an improved version thought to be in development could see the latter increase to 200-250 km.
A previously unknown version of this system was shown at the Zhuhai Air Show in October. This has the designator P-12, and has two missiles mounted inside a 6 x 6 wheeled vehicle.
The P-12 missiles appear to be similar to the B-611, but with a longer cable strake. The former is also thought to be lighter and probably has a 300 kg HE fragmentation or blast warhead.
The maximum range is estimated at 200 km, but no specification details released.
The two missiles displayed at Zhuhai were mounted side-by-side in a transporter erector launcher (TEL) similar to the Russian SS-26 Iskander short-range ballistic missile system. The Chinese TEL vehicle has two large rectangular metal doors to provide environmental and damage protection to the missiles when they are being transported. It is stabilised by four hydraulic jacks and the missiles are raised to a vertical position for launch.
Two missiles can be re-loaded in less than five minutes. It is implied that the P-12 system has no in-flight manoeuvrability, but may have terminal guidance if required. This suggests that although the P-12 may enter service with the PLA, it has been designed with an eye to the export market.
JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - JANUARY 24, 2007
Interest grows in possible development of new Chinese SRBM
Duncan Lennox, Editor Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, London, with additional reporting by Robert Hewson, Editor, Jane's Air-Launched Weapons, London
China may be developing a new short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) that could ultimately end up on the export market.
The SRBM in question, which carried the designation P-12 when displayed at the Zhuhai Air Show in October 2006, might be an entirely new missile or just a new version of the solid-propellant B-611 SRBM (possible NATO designation CSS-X-11) that has been developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) since 1995 and was first displayed in 2003.
Two P-12s were shown at Zhuhai mounted side by side inside a 6 x 6 wheeled transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle, similar to the Russian SS-26 Iskander SRBM system. They appear to be similar to the B-611 but with a longer cable strake.
It is believed that the P-12 missile is lighter than the B-611 and probably has a 300 kg HE fragmentation or blast warhead. The maximum range might be 200 km but there were no specification details released.
The Chinese TEL has two large rectangular metal doors to provide environmental and damage protection to the missiles when they are being transported. It is stabilised by four hydraulic jacks and the missiles are raised to the vertical for launch. Two missiles can be reloaded in less than five minutes. Chinese literature on the P-12 system implies it has no in-flight manoeuvrability but may have terminal guidance if required. This suggests that, although the P-12 may enter service with the People's Liberation Army, it has been designed with an eye to the export market.
The B-611 SRBM seems to have been designed for low-cost tactical army use, with a range limited to 200 to 250 km, and probably as a replacement for the M-11 (CSS-7 and DF-11) that entered service in 1992.
The B-611 has used an 8 x 8 wheeled launcher vehicle similar to that used by the WS-2 multiple launch rocket system, which might provide a logistics advantage in service. It is believed that the B-611 is capable of flying on a depressed trajectory and manoeuvring in-flight to change its trajectory in azimuth and range. The missile has a length of 6 m, a body diameter of 0.4 m and weighs 1,200 kg at launch. The warhead weight is reported to be 480 kg and can be HE fragmentation or submunitions. The minimum range of the missile is 80 km and the maximum range is 150 km.
It is believed that an improved version, designated B-611M, is being developed, increasing the maximum range to 200-250 km. A B-611M launcher was displayed at Zhuhai in 2006 but without any information.
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