A new £2.6million missile looks poised to turn the tables on China by its ability to inflict heavy losses on the Asian giant’s navy. Precision strike missiles (PrSMs) are reported to have a range of over 300 miles compared with Atacms missiles which have a top range of about 190 miles.
One precision strike missile reportedly costs £2.6million ($3.5m). A recent test flight in Australia saw a PrSMs missile (pronounced “prisms”) reach a speed of 4,000kmph, some 300kmph faster than Atacms.
PrSMs are said to be less susceptible to jamming. They can be fired using US-made Himars or UK-made MLRS artillery systems.
A landmark treaty signed by British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz included a pledge to develop a deep precision strike missile in the next 10 years.
Details of PrSMs comes amid sabre-rattling between the US and China over Taiwan, which Beijing considers Chinese territory.
Taiwan relies on the US to deter China, meaning American military capabilities need to be steps ahead of China’s to secure the island’s defence.
Despite this, China has become more assertive over Taiwan, with the self-ruled island nation’s Vice President Bikhim Hsiao accusing Beijing earlier this month of “aggressive military posturing”.
Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, told the Telegraph PrSMs have the potential to dramatically increase the risk factor for a Chinese fleet.
He said: “The most important advantage of a weapons advance like this is it simply encourages the Chinese to say, ‘No… we don’t have to do it now’.”
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of the island, sending jets and ships nearby on an almost daily basis.
While the US doesn’t recognise Taiwan as country, it acts as its main, unofficial ally. Washington supports preserving the status quo in Taipei’s relationship with Beijing, which means neither side should make a move toward independence or annexation respectively.
Taiwan this month launched annual military exercises intended to guard against Chinese threats to invade, including using so-called “gray zone tactics” deployed by China which stop just short of open warfare.
Troops taking part in the drills used Abrams M1A2T tanks and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System acquired from the US.
China appeared to take actions aimed at disrupting preparations for the drills, with the Taiwanese Defence Ministry saying PLA planes and ships conducted harassment operations under the pretext of a so-called joint combat readiness patrol.