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Fiber optic communications for China's missile system were damaged in earthquake
From East Asia Intel, subscription. The recent earthquake in China disclosed problems with Chinas missile units, U.S. intelligence officials said. Members of the Second Artillery Corps fiber optic repair unit were inexperienced in repairing fiber optic communications damaged by the Sichuan earthquake in May, reports from China revealed. The unit made a major contribution to repairing the system under conditions that resemble wartime, according to reports from China. The one-year-old Communications Engineering Regiment learned important lessons and bolstered its capabilities to conduct emergency communication repairs through working with more skilled civilian entities during the relief efforts. Responsible for unique and time-sensitive tasks, this Second Artillery regiment, subordinated to the force's engineering division, touts its flexible organization designed to maximize speed and independence in wartime fiber optic repair, which appears to have benefited this effort, according to an unclassified intelligence report. The reference to the Second Artillerys fiber optic networks is unusual because China usually imposes utmost secrecy about its missile forces, which include strategic nuclear and conventionally armed missiles. The reference to civilian entities likely refers to the role played by Huawei Technologies, Chinas state-controlled communications company that was founded by a Chinese military officer and which in the past installed a fiber optic communications in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban militia, and for Iraqi air defenses under Saddam Hussein. Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-08-09 |
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