The Dong Feng 31 (;

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

reporting name CSS-10) is a third-generation long-range, road-mobile, three stage,

solid-fuel rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

(ICBM) in the Dongfeng missile series developed by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is designed to carry a single 1-

megaton Megaton may refer to: * A million tons * Megaton TNT equivalent, explosive energy equal to 4.184 petajoules * megatonne, a million tonnes, SI unit of mass Other uses * Olivier Megaton (born 1965), French film director, writer and editor * ''Me ...

thermonuclear weapon A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

. It is a land-based variant of the submarine-launched

JL-2 The JL-2 (, NATO reporting name CSS-N-14) is a Chinese second-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deployed on the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) Type 094 submarines. It succeeds the JL-1 SLBM ...

. It is operated by the

Second Artillery Corps The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; ), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (), is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and c ...

(SAC) which, in 2009, was estimated to have under 15 DF-31 missiles and under 15 DF-31A missiles in inventory.

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

National Air and Space Intelligence Center estimates that as of June 2017, five to ten Mod 1 and over fifteen Mod 2 launchers were operationally deployed.http://www.nasic.af.mil/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=F2VLcKSmCTE%3d&portalid=19

History

The PRC began developing the DF-31 ICBM in January 1985. ARMT (then called the 4th Aerospace Academy) was appointed as the main contractor while the research arm of the Second Artillery Corps provided contributing support. The land-based variant of the JL-2 was originally called the DF-23 but was changed later on to the DF-31 because of a change in operational requirements. In 1999, the missile was first displayed publicly at the National Day Parade.The Federation of American Scientists & The Natural Resources Defense Council (DF-31A) Nov, 2006. 73 (PD

/ref> On August 2, 1999, the Chinese state news media reported the successful test of the DF-31. The third test flight of the missile occurred on November 4, 2000; the second test flight had taken place earlier that year. Operational deployment of the missiles reportedly began in 2006. In 2009, US Air Force Intelligence reported that under 15 DF-31 missiles had been deployed.US Air Force Air and Space Intelligence Center, Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threats 200

/ref>

Description

The DF-31 is a multistage rocket, three stage

equipped with an

inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dire ...

. The missile is mounted on a

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...

. It is capable of reaching targets throughout Europe, Asia, and parts of Canada and the northwestern United States.

DF-31A

The PRC has developed an improved variant of the DF-31 called the DF-31A. This upgraded missile has a reported range of 11,200 km, will allow targeting of most of the continental United States and was designed with MIRV capability to hold 3 to 5 warheads, each capable of a 20–150 kt yield, but is thought to be armed with only one warhead with penetration and decoy aids to complicate missile defense efforts. The missile was shown to the public during the parade in Beijing celebrating 70 years since the end of World War II on September 3, 2015. It can carry maneuverable reentry vehicles.

DF-31AG/DF-31B

The PRC has developed an improved variant of the DF-31A called the DF-31AG (G stands for 改 (Gaï), "modified) or DF-31B with an off-road 8 axle TEL and MIRVs. China has successfully tested it from a mobile launcher. The missile's TEL features an extra pair of elevators near the aft of the missile unlike the TELs of the DF-31 or DF-31A, suggesting a heavier missile second and third stage than earlier variants. On the military parade marking the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army in 2017, DF-31AG ICBM was officially demonstrated.

References

External links