China's strategic deterrents on display

According to a brief introduction at the parade, the DF-41 is a land-based, solid-propellant ballistic missile with intercontinental range. Domestically developed and carrying nuclear warheads, it is believed to have been designed and built by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, part of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

PLA Daily, the military's flagship newspaper, previously reported on its WeChat account that the DF-41 can fly at least 12,000 kilometers and be accurate to within 100 meters. It weighs about 60 metric tons and can deliver up to 10 nuclear warheads, according to the report.

The Missile Defense Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies has speculated that the DF-41 has a range of up to 15,000 km, more than any other missile, and is capable of carrying 10 independently targetable nuclear warheads.

Yang Chengjun, a retired missile technology and nuclear strategy expert formerly with the PLA Rocket Force, said the DF-41 is the first of the nation's fourth-generation strategic ballistic missiles that has been made public and is stronger than other Chinese ballistic missiles in terms of technology and capabilities.

"First of all, the DF-41 has a strike range that is longer than any other Chinese missile, covering all of our strategic targets around the world," he said. "This enables us to retaliate against any nation daring to make a nuclear provocation or launch a nuclear attack on us in the first place.

"It carries multiple warheads with strong penetration capability, which makes it very hard to intercept. The weapon's hit accuracy is high enough for nuclear retaliation missions."

Yang said the DF-41 also features good mobility as it can be fired from its roadmobile launch vehicle or a rail launch platform, adding that it can be launched by a small team of operators using just a few pieces of equipment.

"This will make it very difficult for enemies to detect and predict the moves of our DF-41 units," he said.