This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. The Dong Feng 17 or DF-17, which is launched from land, can reach speeds of 7,680 mph ten times the speed of sound and has a range of up to 1,600 miles. In large numbers, a spokesman for China's defence ministry, Wu Qian said that both the D 17 and the DF 26, an intermediate range ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,000 miles had been ordered by Beijing. China announced the DF 17 two years ago with a four-minute clip of what it called the blindingly fast and unstoppable missile capable of evading all existing anti-missile shields. The DF-17, which includes a hypersonic glide vehicle, can be fitted with a nuclear warhead. China, led by President Xi Jinping, is working on another missile, the DF-27, which will have a range of up to 5,000 miles, potentially putting the US State of Hawaii within range.
Military analyst Malcolm Davis, writing for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the DF 17 had been highlighted in the US Department of Defense's 2021 China military power report, published earlier this year. Mr Davis said that China's expanding nuclear arsenal and the growing concern that Beijing is moving towards a launch-on- warning posture are raising questions about whether it is moving from its traditional no first use posture. The report notes that China's no-first use policy is declaratory and suggests that there is some ambiguity about conditions where it would no longer apply JUST IN:Brexit fishing war erupts as French block UK vessel from docking
Britain stands firm in fishing feud with France COMMENT France summons emergency meeting in DAYS EU panic over migrant hell REVEAL China is moving to break out of its traditional deterrence posture and could use conventional forces in a future crisis. The latest revelations came at a time of escalating tensions over both Taiwan and the South China SeaChina Sea, both of which China claims sovereignty over. One expert suggested that Beijing was building mock-ups of US aircraft carriers in order to help troops train for real-life operations.
Sam Armstrong, of the Henry Jackson Society, said these working models are ready to be deployed as a training exercise for a real-life operation against western forces. You don't build a training model of an aircraft carrier unless you plan to conduct a bombing raid on an aircraft carrier. Pictures have suggested that China has built missile targets in the desert based on at least two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers and a US carrier. Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said: I don't think the desert targets are going to be the final stage. It's meant for further refinement.