PLA tested superguns in Inner Mongolia desert: report
Satellite images indicate that China's People's Liberation Army tested two unusually large artillery pieces at a test center for armor and artillery in the desert region of Baotou in Inner Mongolia between two and three years ago, according to an article by Sean O'Connor, a retired intelligence analyst of the US Air Force for the UK-based Jane's Defense Weekly on Nov. 14.
The two artillery pieces measuring 80 feet and 110 feet were seen mounted on a concrete pad on the satellite images between September of 2010 and December of 2011. Astrium, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, later confirmed that the two pieces were still in place as of July this 2013. The satellite image from 2011 indicated the 110-ft artillery piece was conducting penetration tests for high-velocity projectiles.
Inheriting the Soviet tradition, the PLA has shown great interest in developing large caliber and long-range artillery. Back in the 1970s, China had already tested its first-generation Xianfeng supergun as part of the Project 640 anti-ballistic missile program, according to O'Connor. Based on the Iraq's Project Babylon supergun designed by Canadian engineer Gerald Bull, China also developed a long-range supergun technology testbed in the 1990s.
O'Connor suggested Bull was also involved in the development of long-range Chinese artillery systems for China North Industries Corporation in the 1980s. Apparently, the technology used by the PLA to design the artillery pieces in Baotou came from the Project Babylon. Theoretically, the guns are capable of extreme-range artillery barrages or of targeting orbiting satellites even though China is more inclined to deploy ballistic missiles to carry out such a mission.
The two guns are unlikely to be prototype railguns because there is no significant external power routed to the test pad and a lack of environmental protection, according to the satellite photo. O'Connor said the two guns were probably designed because China is trying to resume its long-range artillery programs from the 1970s and 1990s at this projectile test range in the desert.
The two artillery pieces measuring 80 feet and 110 feet were seen mounted on a concrete pad on the satellite images between September of 2010 and December of 2011. Astrium, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, later confirmed that the two pieces were still in place as of July this 2013. The satellite image from 2011 indicated the 110-ft artillery piece was conducting penetration tests for high-velocity projectiles.
Inheriting the Soviet tradition, the PLA has shown great interest in developing large caliber and long-range artillery. Back in the 1970s, China had already tested its first-generation Xianfeng supergun as part of the Project 640 anti-ballistic missile program, according to O'Connor. Based on the Iraq's Project Babylon supergun designed by Canadian engineer Gerald Bull, China also developed a long-range supergun technology testbed in the 1990s.
O'Connor suggested Bull was also involved in the development of long-range Chinese artillery systems for China North Industries Corporation in the 1980s. Apparently, the technology used by the PLA to design the artillery pieces in Baotou came from the Project Babylon. Theoretically, the guns are capable of extreme-range artillery barrages or of targeting orbiting satellites even though China is more inclined to deploy ballistic missiles to carry out such a mission.
The two guns are unlikely to be prototype railguns because there is no significant external power routed to the test pad and a lack of environmental protection, according to the satellite photo. O'Connor said the two guns were probably designed because China is trying to resume its long-range artillery programs from the 1970s and 1990s at this projectile test range in the desert.
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