The Dong Feng 31 is a long-range, road-mobile, three stage, solid propellant intercontinental ballistic missile

Intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...

 in the Dongfeng missile

Dongfeng missile

The Dongfeng missile is a series of intermediate and intercontinental ballistic missiles operated by the People's Republic of China. Typically, the word Dongfeng is shortened to "DF", so Dongfeng 9 is written as DF-9.-History:...

 series developed by the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It is designed to carry a single 1,000kt

KT

-Science:* kT in Physics* Knot , a unit of velocity * Kardashev scale, method of measuring an advanced civilization's level of technological advancement...

 thermal nuclear warhead. It is a land-based variant of the submarine launched JL-2

JL-2

The JL-2 is a Chinese second-generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile which has a two-stage, solid–liquid-fuelled propulsion design. Accurate specifications of the new missile are hard to obtain and substantiate due to the secretive nature of the program...

. It is operated by the Second Artillery Corps

Second Artillery Corps

The Second Artillery Corps is the strategic missile forces of the People's Republic of China. The SAC is the component of the People's Liberation Army that controls China's nuclear ballistic and conventional missiles. China's total nuclear arsenal size is estimated to be about 240 nuclear weapons...

 (SAC) which is estimated to have under 15 DF-31 missiles and under 15 DF-31A missiles in inventory.

The DF-31A is believed to have incorporated many advanced technologies similar to current generation Russian ICBMs, including the use of penetration aids such as decoys or chaff and maneuverable reentry vehicle

Maneuverable reentry vehicle

The maneuverable reentry vehicle is a type of ballistic missile warhead capable of shifting targets in flight...

s to complicate enemy's missile warning and defense system.

History

The PRC began developing the DF-31 as a second-generation ICBM successor of the DF-4 in the mid-1980s. ARMT (then called the 4th Aerospace Academy) was appointed as the main contractor while the research arm of the Second Artillery Corps provided contributing support. The land-based variant of the JL-2 was originally called the DF-23 but was changed later on to the DF-31 because of a change in operational requirements. In 1999, the missile was first displayed publicly at the National Day Parade. On August 2, 1999, the Chinese state news media reported the successful test of the DF-31. Operational deployment of the missiles reportedly began sometime between 2002–2003, but as of early 2006 the US Defense Department reported to Congress that initial deployment was expected later that year. In 2009, US Air Force Intelligence reported that under 15 DF-31 missiles had been deployed.

Description

The DF-31 is a three stage solid-propellant rocket equipped with an inertial navigation system. The missile is mounted on a transport-erector launcher.

DF-31A

The PRC has developed an improved variant of the DF-31 called the DF-31A. This upgraded missile has a reported range of 11,200 km, and possibly MIRV capability to hold 3 warheads each capable of a 20-150 kt yield, and penetration and decoy aids to complicate missile defense efforts. In 2009 US Air Force Intelligence reported that under 15 DF-31A missiles had been deployed.

External links

• Encyclopedia Astronautica