Fighting urban fires with missile technology

A major Chinese company that develops tactical guided missiles is using its defense technology to battle fires in high-rise towers.

Researchers at the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, or CASIC, have come up with a "missile fire-fighting system" that can tackle a blaze in a skyscraper more than 300 meters from the ground.

"The heights of urban buildings continue to grow and many are beyond the capabilities of traditional fire-fighting equipment," Qiu Xuyang, chief engineer at the Second Research Institute of CASIC, told China Economic Weekly.