China's strategic deterrents on display

THREE BALLISTIC MISSILES MAKE THEIR PUBLIC DEBUTS AT NATIONAL DAY PARADE IN BEIJING

China unveiled some of its most secret and mightiest missiles at the grand parade in Beijing on Tuesday, with experts saying the move was intended to display the prowess of the nation's strategic deterrent.

Six types of ballistic missiles featured in the ceremony at central Beijing's Tian'anmen Square that marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. They were the DF-17 medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile, the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile, the JL-2 submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile, and the DF-31AG, DF-5B and DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Five of them can carry nuclear warheads, representing an unprecedented disclosure of China's nuclear force. In previous parades no more than four types of nuclear-capable missiles were displayed.

Among the showcased missiles, the DF-41, DF-17 and JL-2 had never been formally shown to the public and their existence had never been officially confirmed by the People's Liberation Army. They had long been the subjects of intense attention or speculation from military analysts and weapons fans around the world.

Carried by a gigantic, 16-wheel launch vehicle, the road-mobile, solid-propellant DF-41 appeared at the end of the strategic strike group moving along Chang'an Avenue, indicating its importance in the Chinese military's arsenal. It was the largest land-based weapon showed at the parade.

Military observers widely consider the DF-41 to be one of the most advanced and lethal weapons on the planet. Only three countries－the United States, Russia and China－possess such destructive hardware, regarded as the ultimate strategic deterrent. Its overseas counterparts are the US's LGM-30G Minuteman III and Russia's RS-24 Yars.