China used European technology to create the "Beidou" system

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China used European technology to create the "Beidou" system

Chinese leader Xi Jinping instructs the PLA to "be ready to fight and win a regional war in the midst of rapid development of information technology," reports the Hong Kong branch of Reuters 22 in December.

China is actively seeking foreign technology to create high-tech weapons to equip the PLA, these efforts are combined with the development of national innovative technologies.

In December last year, satellite navigation equipment production centers in the Belgian city of Leuven loaded data from the Chinese Beidou (Ursa Major) satellite receiver into their receivers. "The accuracy of the signal was better than one would expect for the first time," says Septentrio company manager Jan Van Hees, who plans to sell civilian receivers capable of receiving information from the Chinese system.

Diplomatic correspondence published on the Internet (probably referring to information from the site WikiLeaks - approx. "VP") and articles in military and technical journals show that there is technological cooperation between the European Union and China in this area. The Chinese "Beidou" is actually integrated into the European satellite navigation system Galileo ("Galileo"), which must compete with the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS.

Currently, the Beidou 16 satellites are in orbit, by 2020, it will be fully deployed with 30 satellites. In 2014, the Galileo system will also have 16 satellites; in a fully-developed version with 30 satellites, it will be deployed by the 2020 year.

High-ranking Chinese officials believe that for China, deploying the Beidou system is more important than flying into space or sending an automatic probe to the moon. Successful deployment of the system will mean that the Chinese armed forces will have an independent global positioning system, which is extremely important for missile guidance, navigating ships and airplanes. Already, the Beidou receivers are used in the land, landing, missile and artillery troops of China. These opportunities will allow China to achieve the status of a great power. Experts say that China actively used American and European technologies to create the "Beidou". It is noted that 40% of the information received will be used for military purposes. “The Chinese know exactly what they need, and very often they know exactly where these technologies are to be found,” said Oliver Brauner, a researcher at the Stockholm International Institute for Peace and Disarmament Studies.

"Beidou" is a triumph of the Chinese military-industrial complex. Despite the arms and military technology embargo imposed by the United States and the European Union on China in 1989 after the events on Tiananmen Square, the PLA continues to improve its weapon and equipment using western dual-use technologies.

The origins of "Beidou" lie in the secret program "863" (decoding - 1986 year, 3 month - March), which was adopted for implementation by the associates of the Chinese reform architect Deng Xiaoping. This system allows accurate strikes on US military bases in Japan and South Korea.

The triumphant use of the American GPS system in the war against Iraq, where the United States and its allies smashed the Iraqi military machine with precision-guided satellite-guided weapons, made a great impression on China. The United States is tirelessly making it clear that they will stop attempts to use information from GPS by enemy military forces. With the launch of the "Beidou" system, China will gain complete independence in this area.

The US Congress made a report that in the 1990s, China received sensitive technologies from aerospace companies of the USA, Germany and France, which contributed to the development of the Chinese rocket and space industry. This revelation caused a negative reaction in Washington. The company Lockheed Martin stated that cooperation in the field of high technology was carried out in accordance with a special resolution of the US government.

After the termination of cooperation with American companies, China turned to Europe. European space companies have been cooperating with China since 1990's. In 2003, China invested 200 million euros (228 million dollars) in the creation of the Galileo system. Brussels enthusiastically received assistance from China, hoping that the EU countries would expand access to the Chinese market for navigation services, while the United States had closed this market. Since 2004, the EU and China have concluded 12 contracts in this area.

The EU did not see this cooperation as a serious problem, as it considered that the PLA does not pose a security threat to Europe. China’s financial and political support for creating the Galileo system was welcome, as the European Union considered itself to be a US competitor in the satellite information services market.

“It was easy to develop cooperation with China. The Europeans were sincere, believing that the partnership with China in this area would mainly lie in the civilian sphere, ”says Nicola Casarini, analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies (Paris). To participate in the Galileo program (the main contractors are the pan-European companies EADS and Thales SA) in order to coordinate research and development, China has created its own special company, China Galileo Industries. The shareholders of this structure are the largest Chinese aerospace companies, such as the Chinese Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (a giant manufacturer of space technology and rockets) and the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (manufacturer of satellites and other equipment). It remains unclear how much European know-how in the field of space technology was transferred to China. EADS refuses to provide information on cooperation with China, referring journalists to the European Commission. Thales also remains silent.

One of the largest acquisitions of China from cooperation with Europe has become access to the atomic clock - a key technology necessary for satellite navigation. Attempts by China to buy this watch from EADS failed, however, during the 2003-2007 period, Beijing acquired 20 atomic rubidium-based clocks from a Swiss high-tech toolmaker Temex, known today as a SpectraTime watch. Articles published in Chinese technical journals suggest that the clock is installed on Beidou satellites. Probably, Chinese companies have mastered these technologies or created their products based on the reengineering of Swiss watches. In the 2004, the Chinese press reported that China began research and development on the rubidium atomic clock. An article published in the state magazine China News Service says that since then the Research Institute of the Chinese Aerospace Corporation has developed and produced atomic clocks 10 for Beidou satellites.

“The time when China needed foreign satellite navigation systems was over. The era of the Beidou system has begun, Xinhua news agency reported.
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17 comments
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  1. +7
    27 December 2013 11: 39
    Oh-oh, I would be surprised if the news was that the Chinese did something themselves, without stealing anything and not rubbing confidence in anyone.
    And Europe thinks in vain that since they are far from China, his ambitions do not concern them and they can easily earn money.
  2. +8
    27 December 2013 11: 47
    Yes, China is more and more getting into world geopolitics. Makes you reckon with yourself. And no matter how they create the latest weapons, or copy or create their own, the aspirations of China to create a world hegemon from their country should be alarming. I hope that we have already removed pink glasses with regard to China, and all their creeps are appreciated realistically. soldier
  3. AK-47
    +1
    27 December 2013 11: 48
    It seems that China's dream of world domination may come true.
    1. +3
      27 December 2013 17: 23
      It seems like that. The staff estimated that in the event of a war with China, destroying 1 million Chinese every day, they would need to work for seven years without days off. angry
  4. itr
    +1
    27 December 2013 11: 50
    I wonder what technologies are there in Europe in general ??? Amerov faster, maybe we were torn off from us, or maybe they bought 90 for a buck
  5. +1
    27 December 2013 11: 56
    God forbid China to cling to us because of their territorial claims, their army can only be stopped with nuclear weapons ... Then, most likely, there will be a mutual finish.
  6. +1
    27 December 2013 11: 56
    The USSR borrowed many technologists from others and produced not bad military equipment. China follows the same path and produces world-class equipment that is exported. What is stopping us?
  7. Nikolay D.
    0
    27 December 2013 12: 02
    China will be in the role of a catch-up for a long time, they themselves can develop little, and he is only the strongest of the strong, who goes ahead. What are we talking about, they have on "watch" strategic bombers developed by us, back in the 50s - Tu 16, and it was also ours. But underestimation of the enemy ... ...
    1. Guun
      0
      27 December 2013 12: 17
      Quote: Nikolai D.
      but do not give advanced technology.

      They don’t give it, but they sell it! That is the salt!
    2. The comment was deleted.
  8. 0
    27 December 2013 12: 19
    My son also has a lot of toys, but plays alone. Oh, he comes up with such an approach, clutching at everything. Almost all the raw equipment is not finalized, but they still catch up with horror. And I feel uneasy.
  9. 0
    27 December 2013 16: 08
    Surpassing Europe, Russia and the United States by 60% in the population, China in development is 60% of the above ... Although we only see the tip of the iceberg ... But the breakthroughs that China officially introduced are still at the maximum in the mid-90s of the last century ... How soon will Celestial Empire surprise?
  10. +3
    27 December 2013 17: 14
    Well done Chinese. They steal everything: wood, fuel, technology, money. And no costs at the same time. lol
  11. 0
    27 December 2013 17: 45
    Like Europeans stealing less technology
  12. +1
    27 December 2013 19: 05
    By synthesizing with the technical solutions taken with Western technology, the Chinese chines will eventually create superior technology both ours and Western, unless of course they go before the separation. Earlier, they laughed at their cars, but now young people prefer to take Chinese cars than ours.
  13. 0
    27 December 2013 19: 27
    By the way, I was surprised to learn that the propulsion engines from the Energia launch vehicle, on which our Buran shuttle was supposed to fly, were sold by the Kazakhs to the Chinese after the pavilion in which the ship itself and the disassembled launch vehicle stood collapsed.

    So we are waiting for the Chinese copy of Energia, and then we are not far from the shuttle.
  14. kelevra
    0
    27 December 2013 19: 47
    And why be surprised !!!
  15. 0
    27 December 2013 20: 38
    The triumphal use of the American GPS system in the war against Iraq, where the United States and its allies, using high-precision satellite-guided weapons, smashed the Iraqi war machine to smithereens,

    Who writes these vile libel?
    Only one episode: the Battle of Basra, where the most high-tech army in the world slaughtered for more than 40 days.
    Not GPS, nor other ultramodern devices could help to take a city with a population of 400000 people
    406 (296) United Nations
  16. 0
    27 December 2013 22: 58
    Chinese leader Xi Jinping instructs the PLA "to be ready to fight and win a regional war amid the rapid development of information technology"


    China finally showed its teeth and explained to the whole world the reason for such a powerful militarization.

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