China’s Anti-Access Missile

China’s Anti-Access Missile

from The Diplomat by Harry Kazianis

China’s much discussed anti-ship missile, the DF-21D, is a dangerous weapon. It’s also at the heart of the People’s Liberation Army’s anti-access/access denial (A2/AD) strategy, aimed at denying an enemy surface fleet command of the high seas.   Fired from a mobile truck-mounted launcher into the atmosphere, with assistance from over-the-horizon radar, satellite tracking and possibly unmanned aerial vehicles, a warhead is delivered to its target at a speed greater than sound. Currently, the system utilizes a single warhead per missile. But could the system be expanded to fire multiple warheads from one missile – so-called “MIRV” capability, with two or even three warheads per missile? Its been done before. Back in the 1970s, the Soviet Union developed an intermediate range ballistic missile to target NATO strategic and tactical forces, the SS-20. The missile system was mobile and could strike with three independently targeted warheads.  The United States regarded the system as ... Read More...