The Dong Feng-26 or DF-26 (;

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

: CH-SS-18) is an

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range between (), categorized between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ball ...

deployed by the

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

and produced by the

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is a main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, and ground equ ...

(CASC). Chinese sources claim the DF-26 has a range of over and may conduct precision nuclear or conventional strikes against ground and

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

targets. It is China's first conventionally-armed ballistic missile claimed to be capable of reaching

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and the American military installations located there; this has led to the missile being referred to as the "Guam Express" or "Guam Killer".Wilson: page 4 The possibility that a DF-26 unit could have nuclear warheads makes it likely an adversary would target these missiles in a first strike. This weapon advances military goals from a brinkmanship policy to a calibrated

escalation Escalation is the process of increasing or rising, derived from the concept of an escalator. Specific uses of the term include: * Cost escalation, an increase in the price of goods * Conflict escalation, an increase in the intensity of a conflict ...

. The missile was officially revealed at the

2015 China Victory Day Parade The 2015 China Victory Day parade was a military parade held along Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, on 3 September 2015 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day of World War II. The commemoration was the first high-profile militar ...

. In April 2018, it was officially confirmed that the DF-26 was in service with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). The United States believes the missile was first fielded in 2016, with 16 operational launchers in 2017.

Tests and deployments

On 26 August 2020, along with a DF-21D, a DF-26B was launched into an area of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

between

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

and the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea and currently controlled by the People's Republic of China. The word ''paracel'' is of Portuguese origi ...

, one day after China said that an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n U-2 spy plane entered a

no-fly zone A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's terri ...

without its permission during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in the

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea ( zh, c=渤海, p=Bó Hǎi, l=Bo Sea) is a gulf/inland sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects via the Bohai Strait. It ...

off its north coast (the US confirmed a U-2 sortie but denied it was improper.) and came as Washington blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and targeted individuals it said were part of construction and military activities in the South China Sea. US officials subsequently claimed that the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) had fired four medium-range ballistic missiles in total. The missile tests drew criticism from Japan, the Pentagon and Taiwan and led to volatility in Asian markets. As of 2019, the DF-26 has not been tested against targets at sea.

Variants

*DF-26 *DF-26B

Notes and references

Citations

General bibliography

* * Ballistic missiles of the People's Republic of China Intermediate-range ballistic missiles Nuclear missiles of the People's Republic of China Synthetic aperture radar Military equipment introduced in the 2010s Surface-to-surface missiles of China {{missile-stub

Tests and deployments

Variants

See also

Notes and references

Citations

General bibliography