Chinese Weapons and Taiwanese Fears

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Chinese naval scientists said on Monday that they’ve developed a smart shell for kinetic energy weapons. The shells are propelled by an electromagnetic gun and fly at the staggering speed of almost 8,000 feet per second. The shells are also said to be able to receive signals from China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system, which enables them to hit targets with remarkable accuracy. This is actually an idea that the United States Navy worked at for years but ended up abandoning back in 2021. So if China’s claims that it has developed this weapon are accurate, it could dramatically reshape the military landscape in China’s favor.

Another quick story about Taiwan: This is the nation that the Chinese Communist Party claims is rightfully theirs, even though they never controlled it at any time. And the Chinese say they will take Taiwan by force if they have to. On Thursday, the Taiwanese appeared to be taking these Chinese threats seriously because they extended the amount of time that Taiwanese men are required to serve in the military. Taiwan does maintain active conscription. It requires all male citizens of military age who qualify to serve. The required time used to be just four months, but now, due to fear that China will soon make good on all its pledges to invade their country, the Taiwanese have to serve at least one year.

The biggest story of the week is that Russia is having considerable success with a new saturation tactic that lets it penetrate Ukraine’s air defenses and strike more civilian targets in the country.