November 4, 2004

 For the first time, China is openly offering for sale surface-to-surface missiles. That occurred this week  at the fifth annual China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (at Zhuhai, in southern China. The missile on display was the B611, a compact, solid fuel missile with a range of 150 kilometers. China has made quiet deals to sell missiles in the past (to customers like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.) Doing so openly, at a trade show, is another matter however. Most other nations are trying to restrict the spread of ballistic missiles and ballistic missile technology.