Chinese Missile Drill Targets F-22 Raptor

(Hong Kong, China) Early this month, Apple Daily reported that Japan and the U.S. would hold military exercises in November where China was the enemy in a scenario to recapture disputed islands after a Chinese surprise attack.

The war games will include participation of the USS George Washington nuclear aircraft carrier and F-22 stealth fighter jets.

Less than a week later, the Chinese People's Liberation Army responded with a related missile drill.

On Oct. 8, five days after the report, a Chinese Air Force brigade in the Chengdu military district practiced firing a Hong Qi No. 9 missile, China's newest ground-to-air missile, to hit a target assumed to be an F-22, the Apple Daily said.



Hong Qi No. 9 Missile
The Science and Technology Daily, published in Beijing, wrote a story about the drill. "Right after the radar sent the information on the location of the stealth fighter to the missile launch team, the Hong Qi No. 9 missile flew into the clouds and an explosion was heard only 40 seconds later.

Meanwhile, on the same day of the successful Chinese missile exercise, President Barack Obama sent a letter to Congress proposing an end to the embargo on the export of military C-130 cargo planes to China.

Strangely, while the Pentagon prepares for a shooting war with the Chinese, the Obama administration acts to help the Chinese get adequate military equipment. I must be missing some sort of diplomatic nuance here.