A double hit designed to eliminate any chance of survival
China is claiming a “breakthrough” at its Baicheng Weapon Test Center where it develops “Terminal Sensing Ammunition”.
This ordnance is especially deadly to troops in tanks or armored personnel carriers, where it times its detonation to go off just outside the hatch for maximum effect.
This kind of weapon is not new to the West, but its development in China says nothing more than the PLA is catching up. Fast.
The PLA Daily, the government-endorsed publication of the People’s Liberation Army, reported significant progress in its technology that “senses” a target and deploys a destructive projectile to break through armor, immediately followed by a cluster of sub-projectiles to wipe out whatever the armor was protecting.
J. Michael Cole at the Taipei Times says China’s weapon “could prove especially threatening” to Taiwan’s military defenses, with the technology capable of making hits as precise as the rooftops of moving armored vehicles.
The two countries have a tense relationship spawned by the mainland’s desire for re-unification, in which the modern island of Taiwan has no interest. The U.S. is concerned China will make good on its threat to attack Taiwan if necessary, amid ongoing espionage within the two countries’ respective militaries.
Here’s how the ammunition works:
The PLA says the weapon has the structure of “cluster sub-munition” which is loaded with smaller projectiles to “deliver strong lethal power” once the target is identified — a double hit designed to eliminate any chance of survival.
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