China tests its communication equipment in nuclear attacks

Chinese scientists have conducted a doomsday experiment to test if their data link communication equipment would survive in case of a nuclear attack. The test was meant to simulate a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) attack, in which a nuclear weapon explodes in the stratosphere. According to standard military equipment guidelines in China, any equipment certified as HEMP-proof should be able to function after being subjected to an electric field of 50 kilovolts per meter, but for this experiment, the scientists raised the limit to 80 kilovolts per meter. The test was successful, as the equipment could function after a brief lag. The data link hardware was made by engineers from China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), which is also the main supplier of electronic warfare equipment for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In September, the experiment’s findings were documented in a peer-reviewed article published in the Chinese academic journal Wireless Communication Technology.