Air Defense and Weapon Systems Used by China, Israel and European Countries

In yesterday's article, we talked about US and Russian air defense and weapon systems. In this article, I will talk about the air defense and weapon systems produced/used by China, Israel and some European countries. At the end of the article, I will make a general evaluation in the conclusion section.

China

China, which together with Russia opposed the US deployment of THAAD in South Korea, is getting Moscow's help with air defense systems. According to an analysis published on the US Department of Defense website in July 2020, Beijing is heavily dependent on Russia in this regard.

The surface-to-air HQ-9 missiles, developed on the basis of the Russian S-300s, were widely deployed in the early 2000s. The antiballistic HQ-19 version is estimated to have a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers. Seen as medium-range, HQ-19s are seen as a big leap after HQ-9s with a ballistic range of 500 kilometers.

Compared to THAAD, HQ-19 could be deployed in 2018, according to Pentagon estimates.

Air defense systems of Russia (red) and NATO (green) (CSIS/iDeas Lab)

On July 20, China made global headlines when it test-fired an anti-ballistic missile that was estimated to destroy ballistic missiles in one go. An expert told the Chinese state-owned Global Times that the missile was small but effective, intercepting ballistic missiles in mid-course.

China's Defense Ministry said that the land-launched anti-ballistic missile was not targeting any country and that the test took place within the country's borders. Beijing-affiliated media outlets stated that these tests have been conducted every two years since 2010 and that this was the sixth test. On the other hand, no information was provided on which missile system was tested.

Tong Zhao of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said at the time:

China is trying to build a multi-layered missile defense system with many components. They cannot afford to be left behind in this important part of the military technological race. China is looking at other great powers. The United States is the primary concern, but Russia is also developing increasingly sophisticated missile defense technologies.

China's largest newspaper, the People's Daily, which tries to keep its work secret, illustrated ballistic missile defense with pictures of American systems (People's Daily)

Zhao emphasized that HQ-9 and HQ-19 are being developed for short- and medium-range missiles, while Beijing has not officially announced what is being done in terms of long-range or intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

Most recently, a video of a similar test successfully conducted on October 8 was released.

China has sold Pakistan the version of the HQ-9 system that it produced for Pakistan. The HQ-9/P system was announced by Islamabad this time last year. It was stated that the range of the system against ballistic missiles exceeds 100 kilometers.

Algeria, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have also announced that they have HQ-9 missiles. Turkey has also reportedly received support from China for the transfer of ballistic missile technology, but this is probably not the case at the moment. 

Beijing is also developing the HQ-26, the equivalent of the sea-launched SM-3 missile used in the US Aegis ballistic missile defense system, and the HQ-29, the equivalent of the PAC-3 used in the Patriots.

Israel

Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired from Gaza (AFP)

Israel is one of the countries most in need of an air defense system. Despite all sanctions, the Palestinians, whose land it occupies, are able to launch hundreds of handmade missiles at a time into territory controlled by Tel Aviv. 

After the tense weekend of August 5-7, Tor Wennesland, the United Nations (UN) Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reported that Palestinians fired more than a thousand rockets in response to the attacks. The statement said that 354 of these rockets were fired towards Israel, while 81 of the rockets fired from Gaza landed in the Gaza Strip and 14 in the sea.

The three days of attacks left 49 Palestinians dead and no Israelis dead or seriously injured. 

The Israeli Defense Forces have been established to respond to rocket and other air strikes from Gaza and the West Bank. 

The Iron Dome system provides the lowest level of Israeli defense. With a range of 4 to 70 kilometers, it has been in use since 2011.

Developed after the Lebanese Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 missiles during the 34-day conflict in 2006, Iron Dome is the most tested air and missile defense system outside of exercises. 

The Dawood Sling, which began development in 2006 and was commissioned in 2017, works against cruise missiles and lower-level ballistic missiles. 

The Arrow-3 missile system, also fielded in 2017, provides the highest level of defense with an estimated range of 2,400 kilometers. In this way, Israel aims to intercept ballistic missiles, especially from Iran. Israeli officials claim that these missiles can shoot down both intercontinental ballistic missiles and satellites.

Israel, which has received both financial and technical support from the United States, has not yet made any foreign sales as far as is known. Germany, which decided to strengthen its military after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has recently become a suitor for these missiles again. 

However, Washington has prevented Germany from selling the Arrows, which are produced in a project with Boeing on the US side. It is interpreted that the US is trying to sell the THAAD system after blocking Germany.

European Countries

On October 13, 14 NATO allies - Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia and Finland - came together to sign a letter of intent for the development of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI).  

Although it is not yet clear what steps ESSI will take to protect the countries involved, it is rumored that it may acquire Arrow 3 systems from Israel, IRIS-T from Germany and Patriot systems from the United States.

The final tests of the latest version of the IRIS-T system, which Germany promised to send to Ukraine, were only conducted at the end of 2021. Even the German army has not purchased this system. Older versions were sold to Sweden and Norway.

The system, produced in Germany, reportedly provides medium-range and high-altitude protection for small cities and armies. Diehl, the company that manufactures the system, says that IRIS-T is more effective when used with systems such as the Patriot PAC-3, which provides protection at higher altitudes, to provide "layered air defense".

There is also the MEADS air defense system, produced jointly by the US, Germany and Italy. The system uses the PAC-3 of the Patriot system and Germany's IRIS-Ts. MEADS is intended to bridge the gap between THAAD and Stinger systems.

Another prominent system in Europe is the SAMP/T. This air defense system was jointly developed by France and Italy. Finally, in March, questions such as "Is Turkey going back to the SAMP/T air defense system project?" started to be asked again. It was mentioned by the most senior figures that the Turkey-France-Italy group would meet again. 

In 2017, Turkey, France and Italy had initiated a project with the French-Italian consortium EuroSam, which included the co-production of the SAMP/T, which can operate from both land and sea. This step was taken soon after Turkey signed the S-400 deal with Moscow, and a preliminary 18-month study was agreed in early 2018. 

Towards the end of 2019, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring in Syria, which led to the suspension of work on the SAMP/T air defense system, which can be integrated into NATO systems.

SAMP-T, which performs 360-degree tracking with its radar, has the ability to engage targets such as ballistic missiles at an altitude of 20 kilometers at a distance of 100 kilometers and air-breathing aircraft at an altitude of 30 kilometers. 

France has at least seven batteries and Italy at least three. In June 2016, at Turkey's request, one of Italy's batteries was deployed on its territory against the Syrian threat, replacing the German Patriots that had left the region. 

Eleven countries - the United Kingdom, Algeria, Morocco, Morocco, Qatar, Qatar, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Greece - have either SAMP-T or Aster missiles. 

CONCLUSION

Current air threats present new challenges for a layered and integrated air defense architecture:

Rapidly approaching UAVs/electronic warfare platforms can reduce sensor detection and tracking rings through stand-in jamming, and low-traceability aircraft and cruise missiles can penetrate sensor detection and tracking rings without being detected, Hypersonic/supersonic missiles, which can travel at high speed, shorten the detection/decision process, thus shrinking engagement windows; cruise missiles, jet-propelled UCAVs, drone swarms and kamikaze drones, which can approach at low altitudes, can be detected too late, thus shrinking both sensor rings and engagement windows. 

Many of the low-RKA targets that we used to try to detect much farther away are now very close to us, and their cost has become much cheaper than the cost of the missile. 

Russian long-range air defense systems are trying to counter this challenge by using a combination of weapons of all rings, including additional sensors to reduce the advantages of current air threats, missiles with different engagement capabilities, advanced sensor and command and control capabilities, and MANPADS. The US Armed Forces, on the other hand, are moving to a new air and missile defense architecture that aims at the joint and efficient use of sensors and weapons in a networked architecture. There is a race to develop systems capable of engaging large numbers of low-cost missiles at closer ranges, integrated with laser weapons and rapid-fire air defense artillery.

When we evaluate air defence with the development of the air threat, it can be predicted that it will be more effective and less costly to prevent the attack before it starts, to prevent weapon platforms from getting close to the missile and precision guided munition firing ranges, and to shoot the archer than the protection provided by air defence systems. Being able to detect the launch of threatening missiles and the approach of aircraft, UCAVs and swarm drones and warn air defense systems early on will also save valuable preparation time for the defense.

From the air threat side, preventing and destroying air defenses (SEAD/ DEAD) is not seen as a problem to be peeled off in layers, but rather a roll-back of air defenses like a carpet. Reasons that strengthen the current threat, such as low traceability, doubling approach speed, the success of unmanned and expendable platforms, and the ability to attack effectively with a large number of weapons at low cost, require a new assessment and new measures to be taken on the defense side. 

The development of sensor systems, the fusion of voluminous information from different sensors, the development of bearable-cost kinetic/non-kinetic weapon systems that can perform multiple simultaneous engagements at closer ranges, the development of artificial intelligence-based support tools and systems that can perform autonomous missions in the detection/decision chain that will shorten, will shape the roadmap of new network-based air defense systems that can use any weapon with any sensor data.

The Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2022 clearly states that there will be many studies and innovations in this field in the coming period. It is evaluated that especially Artificial Intelligence applications will be put into practice in Air Defense Systems and weapons.

References:

1. https://www.savunmasanayiidergilik.com/tr/HaberDergilik/Gunumuzde-hava-tehdidi-ve-teknolojik-gelismeler

2. https://www.indyturk.com/node/566451/d%C3%BCnya/d%C3%BCnyadaki-hava-savunma-sistemleri-yar%C4%B1%C5%9F%C4%B1

3. https://www.savunmasanayist.com/hava-savunma-sistemi-nedir/