Last week Chinese army carried out its second test-launch of its new InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Dongfeng 41 (DF-41), which could have the ability to fire multiple warheads. The missile was fired Friday, December 13, 2013, from the Wuzhai rocket-firing complex in Shanxi province.
The Dongfeng 41 long-range missile is thought to have a top flight distance of between roughly 10,900 km and 12,000 km, and to be designed to carry multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads.A recent annual report to U.S. Congress on China's military capabilities did not include mention of the road-mobile ICBM, though previous versions of the study detailed at some length the status of the weapon's development.
The Dongfeng-4 is a Chinese-made nuclear solid-fueled road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile. The DF-41 ICBM is the latest in a long line of Dongfeng missiles. According to military analysts, it's been in development since the 1980s and has a top speed of up to Mach 25. Directed by an Inertial guidance system, it can be launched from a range of platforms, it's around 15 metres long and weighs an estimated 30,000 kg.This would make the DF-41 the world's longest ranged missile, surpassing the range of the US LGM-30 Minuteman which has a reported range of 13,000 km.
The DF-41 was reported to have had its first flight test on July 24, 2012.
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