‘Guam Express’ DF-26 missiles in service with PLA

The DF-26 missiles were first seen during a PLA parade in 2015. Photo: Xinhua

 

Carrier killer missiles are now operational along China’s coastal provinces and possibly on South China Sea atolls

China’s defense ministry confirmed on Thursday that high-tech DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missiles have been deployed with the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force.

The DF-26 is tailor-made for precision offensives as well as swift nuclear counter-attacks – with its nuclear-tipped variant – against land- and sea-based targets.

The new missiles, with a hit range of 3,000-4,000km, are also known as the “Guam Express” among Chinese military buffs. They are the PLA’s first conventionally-armed missiles capable of reaching the US outpost of Guam if fired from China’s southeastern coastline.

China to strike first in hypothetical war with Japan: expert

A hypothetical war between China and Japan started by Beijing would involve devastating cyberattacks, missile barrages and secret weapon DF-21D “carrier killer” missiles, according to a scenario outlined by defense and security blogger Kyle Mizokami in US magazine The National Interest.

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In such a scenario, Beijing would likely strike first. While China has not seriously prepared for a war against Japan, the People’s Liberation Army should have sufficiently analyzed Japan’s strengths and weaknesses to draw up a plan of attack on short notice. Mizokami envisions such a strategy to start off with a surprise attack from with PLA’s Second Artillery Corp using a “barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles” to “degrade Japan’s ability to defend itself.”

The situation grows more complex once the US actively involves itself defend Japan, but Mizokami believes the PLA has the firepower to deal enough damage to US forces to force Washington to “cut its losses, throw Japan under the bus, and sue for peace.”

PLA’s global power projection cannot be stopped: US academic

Exactly what was mentioned here in extra commentary from a previous article is recognized by another major outlet. It’s the only way to make sense out of these moves. Globalizing a military in the name of protecting interests is how America did it, and now China is following in its footsteps to fill the power vacuum a suicidally declining USA is leaving in its wake.

 

 

It will only be a matter of time before the People’s Liberation Army gives China the ability to project “meaningful” force outside its immediate region, according to a commentary published in The National Interest, an American bi-monthly international affairs magazine.

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China currently has no bases abroad, no long-range logistics capabilities and only rudimentary satellite coverage, Mastro said, but it does not mean that China cannot have these assets by the end of the decade if it is motivated. Before the turn of the century, few foresaw China possessing its own aircraft carrier or participating in global peacekeeping missions, but these things have already become reality, she added.

Russia May Still Have An Automated Nuclear Launch System Aimed Across The Northern Hemisphere

 

Last week, as thousands of Russian troops streamed into Ukraine, Putin issued a statement reminding the world that Russia was a nuclear-armed power.

“Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations,” he said. “This is a reality, not just words.”