China Releases Footage Of Next Generation Ballistic Missile - Sending Message To U.S.

China releases footage of ‘Guam killer’ DF-26 ballistic missile in ‘clear message to the US’

• Next-generation missile with improved stability and accuracy launched during military exercise
• Analyst says it’s a bid ‘to reinforce the notion that the PLA has the capability to sink US carriers and inflict unacceptable damage on American forces’

China has revealed footage of its next-generation Dongfeng-26 ballistic missile showing improved stability and accuracy, a move analysts say aims to send a message to the United States about its military strength.

Footage of the missile was released for the first time in a report on state broadcaster CCTV, amid intensifying military rivalry between China and the US.

Four fin-like flight control surfaces are seen around the missile nose in the report on an exercise in northwest China. The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force launched at least one DF-26 missile during the drill.

Military analysts said the fin-like flight control surfaces provided better stability for the missile as it neared a moving target, such as a US aircraft carrier.

The intermediate-range ballistic missile is also known as the “Guam killer” for its range – 3,000km to 5,741km (1,864 to 3,567 miles) – that puts the US island in the western Pacific within striking distance.

It could be used in nuclear, conventional and anti-ship strikes, meaning China could use it to attack US aircraft carriers and naval bases in the Asia-Pacific region.

Adam Ni, a China researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said the latest exercise sent “a clear message to the US about China’s growing missile capability, and that it can hold at risk US strategic assets, such as carriers and bases”.

“It’s an attempt to reinforce the notion that the PLA has the capability to sink US carriers and inflict unacceptable damage on American forces,” Ni said.

“Within the context of increasing strategic competition and tension between the two countries, the latest drills are just another signal to the US about the prevails of escalation, including by intervening militarily in support of Taiwan against China … We are likely to see more [of these drills] if bilateral relations worsen.”