Updated

China has augmented security for the Olympic Games with surface-to-air missile launchers, placed just 328 yards from the venue that will host soccer and modern pentathlon when the games open in Beijing Aug. 8, Reuters reported.

At least two camouflaged Hongqi 7 missile launchers have been spotted from a public road, just across from the Bird’s Nest arena and Water Cube aquatics center, Reuters reported.

China has said it hopes to secure the Games from terrorism, their biggest threat, for less than it cost Athens in 2004 by using its own armed forces. The country claims to have foiled plans to kidnap athletes by militants from the far-Western region of Xinjiang as well as thwarted bomb plots.

The U.S.-made missiles, which can be seen through a fence reading "Military Administrative District, No Admittance," were part of a security operation with a significant NATO contribution that cost $1.8 billion, Reuters reported.

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