Douglas Barrie/LONDON
CHINA IS FUNDING development of an air-launched conventional cruise missile in Israel, with a range of over 400km (220nm). The weapon is a derivative of an existing Israeli unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
The missile work is being carried out by TAAS, formerly Israel Military Industries, using the Delilah long-range decoy UAV as the basis for the programme (Flight International, 12-18 May).
The TAAS programme is intended to provide China with a long-range precision-strike capability for its front-line offensive aircraft.
Sources close to the programme have confirmed that China is the intended customer for the Israeli development.
The cruise missile is believed to be substantially larger than the Delilah decoy, although it shares the same basic airframe design. Guidance is likely to be based on a global-positioning/inertial-navigation system, possibly coupled to an imaging seeker for the terminal-engagement phase.
Alongside the cruise-missile derivative, TAAS is working on an anti-radiation derivative of the Delilah, called the Star-1, fitted with a broadband radar seeker and high-explosive warhead.
The cruise-missile programme is part of the growing defence industry ties between China and Israel.
The countries are also collaborating, using the cancelled Israeli Lavi fighter-aircraft programme, as the basis for development of China's J-10 next-generation fighter-aircraft programme.
Potential carrier aircraft for the Delilah cruise-missile derivative could include the Xian H-6 medium-range bomber, along with China's Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter.
Source: Flight International
