NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
PLA developing anti-stealth radar
China’s People’s Liberation Army is deploying advanced air defense radars capable of detecting stealth aircraft, according to an Air Force think tank report.
Additionally, new PLA air defense radars are set to target urgent threats posed by attack drones and low-flying missiles and are being deployed on balloons and unmanned aircraft, the report by the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) reveals.
“China’s large air defense radar industrial base produces comprehensive detection capabilities at all heights and ranges, and its newest systems appear to be on the international cutting edge of radar technology,” the report said.
The scale of radar development for use with China’s integrated air defense networks is very large. Investment in military radar tripled in the past decade, with an estimated $6 billion spent on systems in 2022 alone, the report said.
By contrast, the report said air defense radar is not a high priority for the Pentagon. Of five priority industrial sectors identified in 2022, none involved advanced radar development.
Much of the Chinese development is designed to detect U.S. stealth aircraft, such as F-35s and F-22, fighter/bombers and B-2 bombers that would play a major role in any future conflict. Recently deployed systems include mobile and “stealth-penetrating” radar that are networked with other less capable radar spread around the country.
“The PLA appears able to network air defense radar platforms of multiple types and capabilities at least at the brigade level, and can likely fuse information from air defense radars across the country into a centralized detection network,” the report said, adding that whether the PLA can effectively use the fused data is not clear.
Advanced radar pose threats to the U.S. military’s ability to operate in the Indo-Pacific, the report said. The radar networks provide comprehensive detection, tracking, and targeting within Chinese airspace and long-range radar can operate outside Chinese borders.
“The PRC’s air defense radar network would be difficult for U.S. forces to penetrate except with the most advanced stealth, long-range, and hypersonic platforms, the report said. “As the PLA’s more advanced radar capabilities continue to proliferate, this may become true in other regions as well.”
In a regional military conflict, air defense networks are major targets for military forces during initial phases. For example, recent Israeli airstrikes against Iran destroyed major portions of Tehran’s nationwide air defenses, leaving Iran vulnerable to further attacks.
The 248-page CASI report was based on satellite images of 436 radar sites in China that helped identify the buildup of air defenses, as well as Chinese military writings. It was produced China expert Eric Hundman, a researcher at BluePath Labs.
PLA networked radars are deployed on vehicles, ground stations, ships and aircraft. Mobile systems can detect aircraft over 400 miles away and longer-range systems can reach more than 1,800 miles. One new PLA radar is called “Spiderweb” and is billed as a “UAV terminator” using a portable phased-array radar with 360-degree coverage and multiple-target tracking capability.
Futuristic radar technology being worked by the PLA includes “cognitive radar, quantum radar, intelligent radar and microwave photon radar,” the report said.
Intelligence radar will use artificial intelligence to adjust transmission waves and receiving processing to target environments.
Cognitive radar will use AI to replace less capable software algorithms for improved detection, tracking and identification of targets.
Radar will also use AI to counter interference and speed up performance and expand networking.
For detecting stealth jets, the PLA is developing a “bi-static” radar that uses two base stations, the report said. Microwave photon radar uses microwave photons rather than radio photons for improved capabilities for spotting stealth aircraft and overcoming weather.
The report did not mention China’s development of an orbiting synthetic aperture radar satellite reportedly deployed in 2023. The Ludi Tance satellite is orbiting at 22,000 miles and can monitor over a third of the Earth’s surface, producing all-weather high-resolution detection, the South China Morning Post reported last month.
China also is exporting advanced radar to an estimated 23 nations, including Egypt, Pakistan and Venezuela.
Taiwan calls in AIT chief over Trump’s Xi comments
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry took the unprecedented step earlier this month of calling in the official U.S. representative on the island to complain about President Trump’s comments on Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to a person familiar with the exchange, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene was summoned to the ministry March 2 for a meeting with Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung. Mr. Lin asked the director to explain Mr. Trump’s Oval Office comments about wanting to have good relations with Mr. Xi and inviting China to “come in and invest” in the U.S.
The director also was asked about Mr. Trump declining to comment on whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan.
The president sidestepped a reporter’s question about a U.S. of the island defense saying, “I never comment on that.”
“And if I said it, I certainly wouldn’t be saying it to you. I’d be saying it to other people, maybe people around this table,” Mr. Trump said during the start of a Cabinet meeting.
The Taiwan foreign minister also sought an explanation for the heated exchange between Mr. Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vice President J.D. Vance on Feb. 28.
The Taipei meeting was described by the person as very tense, with Mr. Lin seeking an explanation for what was going on in the new Trump administration in Washington. A spokesman for the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Foreign Ministry meeting also included Defense Minister Li-Hsiung Koo and a representative of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), the country’s major semiconductor manufacturer.
A day after the meeting, Mr. Trump announced alongside top TSMC officials that the company would invest $100 billion in the U.S. over four years.
The chipmaker’s investment in the U.S. have fueled political debate in Taiwan over concerns the offshoring of key capabilities could increase the risk of Chinese attack. Some worry that TSMC’s U.S. investment will weaken a “silicon shield” that has boosted security.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry and the National Security Bureau, the main intelligence service, also are said to be concerned that relations with the Washington may be facing headwinds from the new administration. The Trump administration wants Taiwan to sharply increase its defense spending to 10% of GDP. Its current spending is less than 2.5%.
Taiwanese officials also are upset by Mr. Trump’s positive comments about Mr. Xi. The president has said likes the Chinese leader “very much” and wants to get along with him.
“If Trump speaks so highly about Xi as he does [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, can the U.S. be trusted?” asked one person familiar with the official Taiwanese thinking.
Chinese hackers Silk Typhoon target IT supply chain
The Chinese government-linked hacking group code-named as Silk Typhoon is targeting the U.S. information technology supply chain, the security group Microsoft Threat Intelligence warned in a report. The report said the cyberespionage group has shifted tactics and is now targeting IT remote management tools and cloud applications for first-time access to targeted computer networks.
“After successfully compromising a victim, Silk Typhoon uses the stolen keys and credentials to infiltrate customer networks where they can then abuse a variety of deployed applications, including Microsoft services and others, to achieve their espionage objectives,” the March 5 report said.
Silk Typhoon was described as an espionage-focused Chinese state actor that is well-resourced and technically efficient. It operates by exploiting “zero-day” vulnerabilities — software holes that allow remote cyber access.
“This threat actor holds one of the largest targeting footprints among Chinese threat actors,” the report said.
Its wide-ranging targets include information technology services and infrastructure, remote monitoring and management companies, managed service providers and affiliates, health care, legal services, higher education, defense, government, nongovernmental organizations, energy and other sectors located in the U.S. and throughout the world.
A key tactic of Silk Typhoon is obtaining network access credentials through stolen application programming interface, or API — keys that are code used for computer access authentication.
The group wants information on U.S. government policy and administration, and legal process and documents related to law enforcement investigations.
U.S. Treasury cyberattack attributed to Silk Typhoon APT
Chinese state-sponsored advanced persistent threat (APT) Silk Typhoon has been linked to the cyber attack on the U.S. Treasury that occurred last month. Silk Typhoon was also blamed for breaking into Treasury Department computers in December.
The department stated in a letter to Congress that on Dec. 8, the security software provider BeyondTrust notified Treasury officials that Silk Typhoon used a stolen API key to access a vendor’s “secure cloud-based service” that was hired to provide technical support to Treasury offices end users.
“With access to the stolen key, the threat actor was able to override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury [Department] user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users,” the department said in the letter.
Contact Bill Gertz on X @BillGertz.
