The Taian HTF5680A1 is a large

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 ...

with a 12x12 configuration. The vehicle comes in two primary variants. The conventional HTF5680 is a 12x12 flatbed vehicle for transport purposes. However, the most common and famous variant is the HTF5680A1 which carries

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

s, most famously, the

DF-26 __NoTOC__ The Dong Feng-26 (DF-26, ) is an intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Chinese sources claim the DF-26 ...

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ba ...

Description

The HTF5680A1 is a 35-ton TEL that is produced and developed by the Taian Special Vehicle company and is currently one of the main workhorse of the

People's Liberation Army Rocket Force 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 ...

. The HTF5680A1 has a dimple on the roof in order to better accommodate the

ballistic missile it carries. Like the

WS2600 The WS2600 is a 22.5 ton 10x8 and 10x10 transporter erector launcher used by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force of the People's Republic of China. It is, along with the smaller WS2500, one of the principal mobility platforms in mounting C ...

, the large size of the HTF5680A1, allows it to carry ballistic missiles with far heavier payloads. The most common type of ballistic missile the HTF5680A1 carries, are IRBMs such as the aforementioned DF-26. The DF-26 missile itself is an IRBM with a 3,000–5,471 km (1,864–3,400 mi) range, and is capable of striking

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. The warhead of the DF-26 have made it suitable for anti-ship usage. Although it is meant for conventional hard surfaced roads, the HTF5680A1 has some degree of cross-country mobility and can travel over rugged terrain, which makes it less vulnerable to counterattacks and far more lethal.

Variants

*HTF5680 - 12x12 flatbed transport variety

References

{{Chinese Missiles Military trucks of China Military vehicles of the People's Republic of China

Description

Variants

See also

References