Advertisement
China’s nuclear programme has traditionally been highly secretive, particularly regarding specific missile capabilities and deployments, and it was not clear why the information about the DF-5, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was made public.
Official disclosures typically use vague language, avoiding precise details about the weapons but Monday’s broadcast disclosed that the two-stage missile, which it described as China’s “first-generation strategic ICBM”, could deliver a single nuclear warhead with an explosive yield of between 3 and 4 megatons of TNT.
It added that the missile had a maximum range of 12,000km (7,460 miles) – enough to strike the continental United States and western Europe – and was accurate to within 500 metres (1,600 feet), a critical factor according to modern military doctrines.
It added that the missile was “32.6 metres in length with a diameter of 3.35 metres and a launch weight of 183 tonnes”.
Advertisement
Former People’s Liberation Army instructor Song Zhongping said the missile, which was developed in the early 1970s and entered service in 1981, played a critical role in China’s nuclear deterrence strategy.
