DF-26

The Dong-Feng 26 (DF-26, simplified Chinese: 东风-26; traditional Chinese: 東風-26; lit. 'East Wind-26') is an intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).[4]

DF-26
DF-26 missile as seen after the military parade on September 3, 2015.
TypeIRBM
ASBM
Place of originChina
Service history
In service2016[1]
Used byPeople's Liberation Army Rocket Force
Production history
ManufacturerChina Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Specifications
Warhead1,200–1,800 kg thermonuclear weapon
Conventional[2]
EngineSolid-fuel rocket
Operational
range
5,000 km (3,100 mi)[1]
Accuracy100 m (330 ft) CEP[3]
Launch
platform
Mobile launcher

The DF-26 has a range of over 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and may conduct precision nuclear or conventional strikes against ground and naval targets.[1] It is China's first conventionally-armed ballistic missile capable of reaching Guam and the American military installations located there;[3] this has led to the missile being referred to by netizens as the "Guam Express" or "Guam Killer".[5]

The ambiguity of whether or not a DF-26 unit has conventional or nuclear warheads makes it risky for an adversary to target these missiles in a first strike.[6]

The missile was officially revealed at the Chinese 2015 parade commemorating the end of the Second World War.[3] In April 2018, it was officially confirmed that the DF-26 was in service with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF).[7] The United States believes the missile was first fielded in 2016,[1] with 16 operational launchers in 2017.[8]

Tests and deployments

On 26 August 2020, along with a DF-21D, a DF-26B was launched into an area of the South China Sea between Hainan and the Paracel Islands, one day after China said that an American U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone without its permission during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.[9] (statements which were denied by the US[10][11][12]) and came as Washington blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military activities in the South China Sea.[13][14][15] US officials subsequently assessed that the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) had fired four medium-range ballistic missiles in total.[14][13] The missile tests drew criticism from Japan, the Pentagon and Taiwan and led to volatility in Asian markets.[16][14][13][17]

Variants

See also

Notes and references

Citations
  1. United States Department of Defense (2019: 44)
  2. "China Commissions DF-26 Missile Brigade - Missile Threat". 20 April 2018.
  3. Wilson: page 8
  4. Richard D Fisher Jr, James Hardy (30 August 2015). "China previews new ballistic missiles in practices for 3 September parade". Jane's Defence Weekly. IHS. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. Wilson: page 4
  6. "Meet the DF-31AG and the DF-26: The Big Ballistic Missiles at China's Military Anniversary Parade". Cato Institute. August 8, 2017.
  7. "Beijing confirms induction of DF-26 ballistic missile into PLARF - Jane's 360". www.janes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  8. http://www.nasic.af.mil/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=F2VLcKSmCTE%3d&portalid=19 Archived 2017-07-18 at the Wayback Machine National Air and Space Intelligence Center
  9. Huang, Kristin (26 August 2020). "Chinese military fires 'aircraft-carrier killer' missile into South China Sea in 'warning to the United States'". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020. The move came one day after China said a US U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone without permission during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.
  10. "China protests U.S. spy plane watching drills". Reuters. August 25, 2020.
  11. Lloyd Parry, Richard (August 26, 2020). "Beijing up in arms over US spyplane sorties". The Times UK. The US air force confirmed that a U-2 surveillance aircraft had made the flight but insisted that it did nothing wrong.
  12. Capaccio, Anthony (August 29, 2020). "China's Missile Volley Sparked by Cold-War-Throwback Spy Plane". Bloomberg.
  13. "U.S., China trade jibes as military tensions worsen". Reuters. August 27, 2020.
  14. "China fires missiles into South China Sea as U.S. sanctions Beijing". The Japan Times. The Japan Times. Aug 27, 2020.
  15. "U.S. targets Chinese individuals, companies amid South China Sea dispute". Reuters. Reuters. Aug 26, 2020. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that on Wednesday China launched four medium-range ballistic missiles that hit the South China Sea between Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands.
  16. "China fires two missiles into the South China Sea and Asian markets feel the blow". Business Insider India. August 27, 2020.
  17. "Tsai calls on China to 'restrain itself'". Taipei Times, CNA and Bloomberg. August 28, 2020.
  18. Diplomat, Franz-Stefan Gady, The. "China Tests New Missile Close to Korean Peninsula".

General bibliography
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