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Why China’s DF-31 missiles remain effective deterrents decades after debut
Not the newest or most powerful, the ICBMs can still reach the US mainland and provide the PLA with a credible nuclear counterstrike force
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Following what became a historic countdown, PLA Sergeant Major Zhao Jing tapped the laptop before him, declared “launch sequence initiated”, and exited the cabin of the missile vehicle he had ridden into the dense jungle of Hainan province.
Some 27 minutes later, a dummy warhead plunged into the southern Pacific Ocean in an uninhabited area near French Polynesia, thousands of miles from Hawaii.
The moment on September 25, 2024, marked China’s first full-range, trans-Pacific intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test since 1980 – and only the second in the country’s history.
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The rare ICBM test also illustrated a credible second-strike nuclear capability for China, sending a strong geopolitical signal to the United States and its allies.
In the launch tied to “the honour of the Rocket Force and the dignity and confidence of the nation”, what Zhao activated was a DF-31AG missile.
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Among the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s nuclear missile inventory, the DF-31 series is neither the newest nor the most powerful weapon.
But the missiles can reach targets on the US mainland and their independent multiple warheads pose a threat to any missile defence.
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