Taiwan to develop 'blackout bomb'

TAIPEI - TAIWAN is to develop a non-lethal graphite bomb designed to disable rival China's power supplies, it was reported.

Should war break out, the so-called 'blackout bombs' would be carried by Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles to paralyse the power systems of China's south-eastern coastal cities, the United Daily News said on Sunday.

The bombs work by sprinkling a cloud of chemically treated carbon fibres over power supplies, causing them to short-circuit, but without killing people.

If approved by Parliament, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology - Taiwan's top arms research unit - would begin research and development of the weaponry at a cost of up to 500 million Taiwan dollars (S$22 million), beginning next year, according to the report.

Taiwan's defence ministry declined to comment on the claims.

Reports said the United States used the graphite bomb against Iraq in the Gulf War, wiping out 85 per cent of its electrical supply.......