CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 15

ARTSRUN HOVHANNISYAN
and to this amount they can add several “THAAD” missile defense sys-
tems. American Navy can increase this number by approximately 60 piec-
es of “Aegis” SAM defense system, while Japanese and South Korean
Navies can add to that number about ten similar systems. “Patriot” and
“THAAD” systems are able to hit 8, while “Aegis” systems can destroy
18 targets at a time. Moreover, the last two systems can even hit Chinese
satellites in the orbit, while ordinary Chinese anti-missile systems do not
have appropriate capabilities to do that. Hence all American SAM sys-
tems together can hit over 2000 various types of missiles. Anti-missile
capabilities of these systems are signifi cantly higher than Chinese sys-
tems of the same type. At the security forum held in China In 2016, the
fi rst deputy chief of the Russian General Staff , Lieutenant-General Vic-
tor Poznikhir in his report alerted about capabilities of these systems. As
he noted, the modeling showed that particularly American naval missile
defense systems and cruise missiles are posing a threat to Russian and
Chinese ballistic missiles, as well as upsetting the balance of power in
favor of the US. 30 According to him, these systems are able to hit Russian
ballistic missiles even before they reach the highest altitude of their fl ight
when the warheads are not detached yet.
Experience and Challenges
This simple calculation shows that even given EW impacts and other
electronic jamming from both sides directed to each other, there will be
less Chinese missiles to get to their targets than American ones, if noth-
ing, launched in a greater amount. In this situation, when the sides ex-
change couple of strikes using long-range fi ring assets and make attempts
to concurrently interdict each other and hit those missiles also in the air,
then the Air Force will be the entity to fi rst assume control over the sit-
uation. As we noted, American Air Force and Navy together have about
900 two-engined fi ghters apart from allies’ similar aircraft. Most of them
will be used primarily to establish air superiority, by which, fi rst of all,
they will deprive Chinese fi ghters of performing any other tasks; then by
providing up to 3000 sorties on a daily basis, they will gain air suprem-
30
“Pervij zamnachalinka GOU Generalnego Shtaba VS RF general-leytenant Viktor Poznix-
ir vistupil na Syanshanskom forume po bezopasnosti,” Ministerstvo oboroni (in Russian),
[“Lieutenant General Victor Poznikhir, First Deputy Head of Russian General Staff Main
Operations Directorate, gave a speech at Xiangshan Security Forum”], Defence Ministry, Oc-
tober 10. 2016, http://function.mil.ru/news_page/world/more.htm?id=12099373%40egNews
(accessed November 5, 2018); “Opasnost PRO SShA dlya yadernix potencialov RF i Kitaya
okazalos nedoocenenoy,” (in Russian), [“The Threat of US Missile Defense for Russian and
Chinese Nuclear Powers is Underestimated”], Interfax,October 11, 2016, http://www.inter-
fax.ru/world/531967 (accessed November 7, 2018).
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