CHINA-INTERNAL: MILITARY REFORMS

 On December 31, 2015, the PLA launched a significant reorganization which included re-naming of its missile forces as the Rocket Forces and creating the Strategic Support Force that is designed for high-technology warfare, including space, cyber and electronic warfare. On January 8, 2016, the Hong Kong-based pro-Beijing 'Tung Fang Jih Pao' quoted official Beijing-based military commentator Song Zhongping as saying the Strategic Support Force will be made up of an Internet Army, an Aerospace Army and Electronic Warfare Troops. Song Zhongping added that the new force would be equipped in the future with the Shenlong space plane that is capable of traveling in both space and air. The plane is said to be China’s version of the Pentagon’s experimental X-37B space plane. According to Song Zhongping, the unmanned Shenlong is being developed as space weapons launch platform, as well as for surveillance, intelligence and early-warning missions. It was the first time an official Chinese military representative linked the Shenlong to China’s growing space warfare capabilities.


(Comment: Song Zhongping is a retired military instructor at the PLA's influential Second Artillery Force. The Shenlong – Divine Dragon – employs high speed with maneuverability and radar-evading stealth features. It will be capable of long-range flight.The Shenlong has been under development since 2007 and at least one test of the plane, launched beneath the wing of an H-6 bomber, took place five or six years ago.)
 






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