A video has emerged online showing the launch of a Chinese hypersonic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to US territory. Beijing did not reveal the time or location of the launch, but a video of the test has been released by state broadcaster CCTV.
China Daily identified the missile as a Dongfeng-26, or DF-26, on its account on Weibo, a Chinese equivalent to Twitter and Facebook. The news website Sina Military said a medium-to-long-range missile could carry a four-megaton nuclear warhead and hit targets as far as 6,000 kilometres away, meaning it could strike Guam, a US territory in Micronesia.
China's DF-26 ballistic missile drill senda "clear message" to the U.S.#China pic.twitter.com/y2WOjIbhh7
— ivan (@ivan8848) January 5, 2020
CCTV said the DF-26 was reportedly developed by Chinese manufacturers and was commissioned by the People’s Liberation Army in 2018. Beijing first showcased it in 2015 during a parade dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Second World War and showed it recently during the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing is also said to possess the world’s most powerful ballistic missile – the DF-41. In a video released in 2017, Beijing claimed that the DF-41 has the longest range and reportedly can reach London or the US mainland with nuclear warheads. China warned that countries should not be afraid of its advanced military, as Beijing would use this power only in the event of provocation.
