The Dong-Feng 15 (a.k.a. DF-15, M-9, CSS-6) is a short-range ballistic missile developed by China. The U.S. Department of Defense estimated in 2008 that China had 315–355 DF-15 missiles and 90–110 launchers.

History

Development on the DF-15 began in 1985 with a finalized design proposal being approved by the PLA in 1987. From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, testing of the missile was done in the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

. The first public display of the missile took place at the Beijing Defense Exposition in 1986. The Second Artillery Corps had allegedly deployed a small number of the missiles the following year. In 1989,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

agreed to finance

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

's purchase of M-9 missiles from China. The sale of missiles to Syria were cancelled under U.S. pressure in 1991.

Description

The DF-15 uses a solid fuel, single-stage rocket. It is vertically launched from an eight-wheeled

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

(TEL). The missile's trajectory is guided using small thrusters and an inertial guidance system on the warhead. The warhead is only a tenth of the size of the missile body. After the body and warhead separate, the body trails behind to camouflage the warhead. The

terminal velocity Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid (air is the most common example). It is reached when the sum of the drag force (''Fd'') and the buoyancy is equal to the downward force of gravity (''FG ...

of the missile is over Mach 6. It can deliver a payload up to , with accuracy of 300 m circular error probability (CEP). The DF-15A is a variant that employs control fins at the rear of the missile and on the reentry vehicle, GPS updates, and terminal radar guidance. Its payload is believed to be with a range of and improved accuracy of 30–45 m CEP. The DF-15B is a further upgraded variant with similar features, as well as an active radar seeker,

laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter or laser distance meter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by ...

, and

maneuverable reentry vehicle The maneuverable reentry vehicle (abbreviated MARV or MaRV) is a type of warhead for ballistic missile, ballistic missiles that is capable of maneuvering and changing its trajectory. There are two general reasons to use MARV. One is to make it ...

. It is capable of ranges between with greater accuracy of 5–10 m CEP. The DF-15C is a

bunker buster A bunker buster is a type of munition that is designed to penetrate hardened targets or targets buried deep underground, such as military bunkers. Armor piercing shells Germany Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed ...

variant equipped with a deep-penetration warhead, with a range of and accuracy of 15–20 m CEP. It was originally designed with the capability of destroying the Heng Shan Military Command Center in Taiwan's capital of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, which was built to withstand a 20 kiloton nuclear blast, a 2 kiloton conventional bomb blast, or an

electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also referred to as a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. The origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic field, as an ...

; another target would be Chiashan Air Force Base. In the event of an invasion, the destruction of Taiwan's major command center would make it difficult to coordinate defenses. The missile's range also reaches locations as far as

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

in Japan, U.S. military bases in Okinawa and the Indian capital of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

.China releases first photos of DF-15C ‘bunker buster’, short-range ballistic missile with deep-penetration warhead
– News.com.au, 4 June 2014

References

External links

CSIS Missile Threat – DF-15

Sinodefense description
{{Chinese_Missiles Ballistic missiles of the People's Republic of China Weapons of the People's Republic of China Military equipment introduced in the 1990s

History

Description

See also

References

External links