Overview
- Taiwan’s AN/FPS-115 Pave Paws radar at Leshan detected a ballistic missile soon after it was launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea.
- Taipei reportedly provided real-time tracking information to Washington while U.S. satellites and long-range sensors continued monitoring the missile after it left the radar’s coverage.
- Joseph Wu, secretary general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said the projectile was likely a JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile, a claim Beijing has not publicly confirmed.
- The Leshan system was built by Raytheon, became operational in 2013, is valued at about US $1.4 billion, sits at 2,600 metres altitude and has been upgraded to detect low-flying cruise and tactical ballistic missiles within roughly a 5,000 km radius.
- Analysts warn the episode highlights the radar’s strategic value and vulnerability because its fixed location makes it a likely target in any wider cross-strait conflict, a concern sharpened by reports that a similar upgraded radar was damaged in Qatar earlier this year.