Chinese missile drill tests ‘ultimate symbol of PLA destructive potential’ and sends message to the US
- CCTV report said rocket forces simulated response to attack by ‘imaginary enemy’
- DF-41 drill tested readiness and played to both domestic and overseas audiences
China has run a simulated launch and strike mission against an “imaginary enemy” by one of its intercontinental ballistic missiles from an underground facility, a second-strike exercise analysts say will improve Beijing’s ability to deter the United States.
This week, state-owned CCTV reported a drill by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, but did not reveal when or where it took place.
Song Zhongping, a missile expert and former officer with the PLA’s Second Artillery Force, suggested the report showed the Dongfeng-41 – China’s most advanced ICBM, whose development has been at the centre of speculation by Western analysts for the past decade – may already be in service.
Song said an operational DF-41 would be a significant step for China’s nuclear deterrent capabilities.
The solid-fuel ICBM can be launched from a mobile platform towards targets between 12,000km and 15,000km away.
Analysts said China might have carried out the drill to test upgrades to its second-strike capability.
A second-strike capability lets China respond to a nuclear attacker with nuclear weapons of its own.