Source: Observer Network
On November 9, the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong said that from the announcement of the no flight zone of the civil aviation NOTAM system issued by China, at 9:00 am to 10:00 am last Sunday (November 5), an intercontinental missile flight test of Dongfeng-41 might have been conducted over the western region of China, where several intercontinental missile tests had been conducted before.
The report also mentioned that Russia recently conducted an annual strategic missile force exercise, and the United States conducted the first hypersonic glider test flight in three years.
Dongfeng-41 missile launcher photographed on the road
Dongfeng-41 missile tested in the western region
Although the Dongfeng-31AG missile participating in the "Sand Parade" also uses an 8-axle heavy launch vehicle, it can be seen from the comparison of the two pictures above and below that the length of the Dong-31AG missile is much shorter than that of the Dong-41 missile
According to foreign media, the DF-41 missile is China's most valued intercontinental missile project at present. The missile has a range of 12000-14000 kilometers and can cover all of the United States. According to the photos circulated on the Internet, the missile is longer than the Dongfeng-31AG missile disclosed in this year's "Sand Parade", and its diameter may also be larger. It uses an 8-axle heavy transport vehicle chassis. The US media believe that the nuclear warhead miniaturization technology of the missile can accommodate 10-12 sub warheads with TNT equivalent of 300000 to 500000 tons in a relatively small body. In contrast, according to analysis, the DF-31AG missile still uses a single warhead.
According to foreign reports, the first test launch of the DF-41 missile was conducted in 2012. If the test launch on November 5 was really Dongfeng-41, it would be the eighth test launch of Dongfeng-41 missile recorded by foreign reports.
The US "Peacekeeper" missile guidance module and warhead can carry 10 W88 warheads with an equivalent of 475000 tons. It is said that China's new warheads have kept pace with them in terms of the equivalent and miniaturization level
In terms of size and performance positioning, China's Dongfeng-31 and 41 missiles are similar to the combination of "Militia 3" and "Peace Guard" at the end of the Cold War in the United States, except that China's land-based intercontinental missiles use heavy off-road vehicles for mobile deployment, while the United States' land-based intercontinental missiles are deployed in silos. It reflects the difference between the "preemptive" strategy of the United States and the "second retaliation" strategy of China
The last test launch of Dongfeng-41 was in April 2016. The US media said that the US intelligence agency found that the missile was carrying two sub warheads, which was the second launch test of Dongfeng-41 with two sub warheads.
The US Department of Defense said that last year China used the Dongfeng - 5 missile to launch a test of 10 sub warheads. However, according to analysis, the DF-5B missile that has been deployed in recent years carries five heavy million ton equivalent warheads. Therefore, foreign media believe that this test is intended to verify the new multi warhead guidance module used by DF-41 or the new generation of liquid fuel intercontinental missiles.
The American media gave Dongfeng-41 the title of "USA Killer"
A missile can shoot 10 sub warheads, which seems to put a lot of pressure on people... In fact, this kind of view of exaggerating the threat of China is very ridiculous. As early as the 1980s, the United States had intercontinental missiles that can shoot 10 sub warheads. However, due to the restrictions of the U.S. - Russia START Treaty, the "Trident" missiles that can carry 10 sub warheads can only carry 3 warheads at present, The Minuteman 3 missile is a single warhead
