DF-5C ICBM: What You Need to Know
Key Points and Summary
-While China’s Victory Day Parade showcased new missiles, the real star may have been a terrifying upgrade to its oldest ICBM, the DF-5.
-The new DF-5C variant transforms the legacy weapon into a modern powerhouse. Chinese state media claims the missile now has a range of over 20,000 km, capable of hitting any target on Earth.
-It is now equipped with up to ten independently targetable warheads (MIRVs) and travels at hypersonic speeds, making it a formidable and highly survivable component of China’s rapidly modernizing nuclear deterrent.
China’s Legacy ICBM Gets Terrifying Upgrades: Here Comes the DF-5C
China’s Victory Day Parade saw the debut of the new Dongfeng-61 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), but absent any official confirmation of its technical specifications, it could be argued that the appearance of an upgraded DF-5 ICBM – the DF-5C – was the real star of the show.
The DF-5 ICBM has been in service with the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force since 1981, and has seen some upgrades over the last four decades. Around 2015, the DF-5B variant arrived with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) upgrade.
The upgraded missile was first revealed to the public during the 2015 Victory Day parade, which marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Asia.
Reports at the time suggested that the missile was capable of housing twelve warheads.
The DF-5C, however, has seen even more substantial upgrades.
Here’s What We Know
Chinese state media framed the DF-5C’s appearance at the Victory Day Parade this week as the debut of a truly mighty weapon, citing an estimated range of more than 20,000 km – more than enough to reach any point on earth, including the United States, Europe, and all of Asia.
Unlike earlier DF-5 variants, however, the 5C incorporates technologies drawn from both its predecessors and newer designs like the road-mobile DF-41. The result is a legacy missile with the power and survivability of a modern missile, along with dramatically improve precision.
Among the most immediately recognizable features of the missile is its modular design, which allows the missile to be transported in three separate sections. That feature helps cut down preparation time compared to older variants of the missile.
Additionally, the 5C carries MIRVs – as many as ten, according to Chinese analysts – which are capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads. The missile is also reported to fly at hypersonic speeds measured in “tens of Mach.” The shockingly high speeds of the missile mean that it could easily overwhelm missile defenses – including some of the most modern systems used by the West.
The missile’s guidance has also been improved, with new technologies combining both inertial and starlight navigation with the Beidou satellite system – giving the 5C the kind of accuracy previously only seen in shorter-range weapons.
For Beijing, the missile is a reminder to foreign leaders – particularly those in the West – that China’s nuclear deterrent is becoming increasingly formidable, with legacy weapons now posing greater risks than ever, and newly-developed missiles like the Dongfeng-61 posing an even greater threat now and into the future.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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