China has always been on forefront helping Pakistan, its time-tested and all-weather friend to strengthen its defence capability. The recently provided tracking system could allow Islamabad to speed up development of missile that can target multiple cities or militias sites, reports South China Morning Post, quoting Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) website. China is the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan. In this connection, Chinese authorities released classified information about the deal.
According to the report, China has sold Pakistan a powerful tracking system in an unprecedented deal that could speed up the Pakistani military's development of multi-warhead missiles. This is a most important development consolidating Pakistan's defence system. News of the sale - and evidence that China is supporting Pakistan's rapidly developing missile program - comes two months after India tested its most advanced nuclear-ready intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range long enough to hit Beijing or Shanghai.
The Pakistani military recently deployed the Chinese-made system "at a firing range" for use in testing and developing its new missiles, he said. India is actively engaged building up their nuclear weapons capabilities. India's January 18 test of its Agni-V ICBM, with a range of more than 5,000km (3,100 miles), is seen as a message that the South Asian giant can deploy a credible nuclear deterrent against China.
While India's single-warhead missiles are bigger and cover longer distances, Pakistan has focused its efforts on developing multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), a type of missile carrying several nuclear warheads that can be directed towards different targets. It has been a long-held notion that Beijing is supporting Islamabad's missile development programme. But solid evidence can seldom be found in the public domain, making the CAS statement a rarity.
About the tacking system, the report further said, an optical system is a critical component in missile testing. It usually comes with a pair of high-performance telescopes equipped with a laser ranger, high-speed camera, infrared detector and a centralised computer system that automatically captures and follows moving targets. The device records high-resolution images of a missile's departure from its launcher, stage separation, tail flame and, after the missile re-enters atmosphere, the trajectory of the warheads it releases.
The uniqueness of the Chinese-made system lay in its use of four telescope units, "more than normally required", Zheng said. Each telescope, with a detection range of several hundred kilometres, is positioned in a different location, with their timing synchronised precisely with atomic clocks. Together, the telescopes provide visual information of unprecedented detail and accuracy, which missile developers can use to improve designs and engine performance.
Using more telescopes allows the system to track more warheads simultaneously from different angles, reducing the risk of losing a target. Zheng said he could not elaborate further on the technology nor where in Pakistan it was being used as it involved the country's defence interests. "We simply gave them a pair of eyes. They can use them to look at whatever they want to see, even the Moon," he said.
High-quality optics are essential in missile development, especially MIRVs, said Rong Jili, deputy director at the Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Aerospace Engineering. Other types of tracking devices, such as radar, can collect more precise data at longer distances, but the Chinese-made optical system provided the intuitive, close-up look at real-life action that missile developers craved, he said.
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