Prepared to hit US targets you know China's missile arsenal

Satellite images showed China using simulated US targets to test ballistic missiles. As Beijing continues to develop its arsenal of these weapons amid rising tension between it and Washington.

Satellite images from Maxar Corporation showed the Chinese military building in the Xinjiang desert mock-ups of the US Navy's aircraft carrier and other US warships, possibly being used as training targets. While the US Naval Institute quoted geospatial intelligence company All Source Analysys as saying, "The complex, which was built, is used to test ballistic missiles."

These images come days before Beijing accused the US Department of Defense of manipulation after publishing a report confirming China's progress in developing its nuclear arsenal. The report stated that China may possess "700 nuclear warheads by 2027". In parallel, China is also developing its missile capabilities, the latest of which was announced by the success of its hypersonic missile tests. What prompts to shed light on the most prominent components of this missile arsenal.

Long March missile

The fever of the race towards owning "hypersonic" missiles is dominating the military industries of the three great powers. After Russia previously announced the development of its first Avangard missile of this type, the Wall Street Journal revealed in mid-October that China had successfully tested a similar Long March missile.

The British newspaper quoted three Chinese sources, who confirmed that Beijing launched a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, which flew around the Earth in a low orbit before landing towards its target, which failed by 32 km. She added that the US intelligence was "surprised" by the progress made by China.

In this context, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he would not comment on the report, but added: "We have clearly expressed our concerns about the military capabilities that China continues to develop, capabilities that can only increase tension in the region and beyond. This is one of the reasons why we consider China the number one challenge that necessitates our action.”

The advantage of hypersonic missiles is that they are faster than the speed of “supersonic” and ballistic and conventional cruise missiles, and are smarter than them, which makes their interception more difficult than the missile defense systems on which the United States spends United billions of dollars. In addition to its ability to carry devastating nuclear warheads.

The "East Wind" super group!

China also has a powerful ballistic arsenal, of which the "East Wind" (Dongfeng) missile group is one of its most important icons. The range of these ICBMs varies between 500 and 15,000 km. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads with a destructive capacity of one million tons.

China began developing this group since the fifties, and it is divided into four main models that have been continuously updated: Dongfeng 1, Dongfeng 2, Dongfeng 3 and Dongfeng 4. The last and most powerful was the "DF-41" that was introduced into service in 2015, with a range of Between 12 and 15 thousand kilometers, exceeding the American missile "LGM-30 Minuteman", which was considered the longest range before that.

The DF-41 has a speed of Mach 25, which is equivalent to 30,000 kilometers per hour. It is characterized by its ability to carry from 10 to 12 nuclear warheads in addition to 40 deception warheads, and it has a high evasive capacity, as once it enters the atmosphere of the enemy country, it will spread 40 deception warheads in space to disperse its air defenses, in addition to some nuclear explosions in space to blind the radars. floor.

Cruise missile "The Long Sword"

As for cruise missiles, the Chinese arsenal contains an assortment no less important than that of its counterparts, Russia and the United States of America. The most important of these is the "Long Sword" (Shang Jian) ​​missile in its "CJ-10" version. It is a second-generation ground attack missile, with a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers and capable of carrying 500 kilograms of explosives.

This missile reaches a speed above the speed of sound, and is guided using different navigation systems, whether through inertial navigation, satellite navigation, or through terrain matching. It is launched from ships, submarines and launchers of land transport platforms. The history of its introduction into service in the Chinese army dates back to 2014.