Sky Horse

This article is about the Taiwanese ballistic missile. For the East Asian mythological creature, see Tianma. For the fictional sky-treading horse, see pegasus.

Not to be confused with Horses in the Sky, flying horse, or winged horse.

Sky Horse (Chinese: 天馬飛彈; pinyin: Tiānmǎ Fēidàn) is a ballistic missile developed secretly by Taiwan in the late 1970s, with a considerable number being produced.^[1]

Development

Sky Horse was developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), and was associated with the country's then-secret nuclear weapons program. With a range of 600-950 kilometres,^[2] it would have been capable of striking pre-emptively at ports, airfields or missile bases on the Mainland in an arc from Shanghai to Zhanjiang.^[3] The Sky Horse was to be the primary delivery vehicle for the Taiwanese nuclear weapons. The secondary delivery vehicle was planned to be the then in development AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo.^[4]

Project cancellation

The Sky Horse project was cancelled partly due to pressure from the USA, and partly so that the CSIST could concentrate on the Sky Bow missile.^[5] There were calls to revive the program in response to China's missile threats during 1995 and 1996.^[6] A senior Taiwanese official admitted that Taiwan was 'taken aback by China's moves', and there were fears that these could lead to an arms race.^[7]

General characteristics

• Length: > 20 metres
• Propellant: Solid fuel^[8]
• Range: Estimated 600 – 950km
• Guidance: Inertial
• Launch platform: Land-based
• Payload: ~ 350kg^[9]