It has tripled to 36 the number of surface combatants carrying anti-ship cruise missiles.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Underestimating China

These include: eight sophisticated diesel submarines, advanced SU-30 fighter aircraft, modern air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons, supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and as many as 350 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

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Originally designed as a specialist anti-submarine ship, the Type 22 frigate evolved into a powerful surface combatant with substantial anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons systems.

BBC: Navy frigates in Portsmouth 'to be sunk or scrapped'

Originally designed as a specialist anti-submarine ship, the Type 22 frigates evolved into a powerful surface combatant with substantial anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons systems.

BBC: Four Royal Navy frigates in Portsmouth Harbour for sale

Mr Haggerty reckons this would require (for openers) striking around 450 targets, including more than 20 command, control and early-warning radar centres, 150 SAM sites, 205 aircraft shelters, 32 additional air-base targets, 27 surface-to-surface (SS) missile batteries and 12 anti-ship cruise-missile batteries.

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The Russians have also been marketing to international customers a family of deadly sea-skimming anti-ship cruise missiles with air-, surface- and submarine-launched variants.

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