China’s military recently carried out a third test of a long-range DF-31A ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States with nuclear warheads. U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports said the flight test of a DF-31A road-mobile ICBM took place July 24 in China and highlights Beijing’s large-scale nuclear force buildup. The test was carried out in complete secrecy as part of China’s policy of not revealing details of its strategic nuclear forces in public.… The U.S. officials did not provide further details of the flight test. However, it was the third flight test of a DF-31A within the past year. By contrast, the Obama administration has put off U.S. ICBM tests several times in recent years in what military officials said were politically motivated delays. A Minuteman III missile test was put off last year until after the presidential election and delayed again until May over concerns an ICBM flight test would be misconstrued by North Korea, which has its own long-range missiles. Missile analysts said the latest DF-31A test probably was carried out from the Wuzhai Space and Missile Test Center, where earlier tests occurred. Until last month, China’s most recent DF-31A test took place Nov. 30 when an ICBM was fired from Wuzhai to an impact range in western China. An earlier DF-31A test took place Aug. 30, 2012, also from Wuzhai, a missile launch center located in Shanxi province, about 267 miles southwest of Beijing. It could not be learned whether the latest test involved a single dummy warhead or multiple warheads. China Conducts Another Mobile ICBM Test - bit.ly/18z3xbB
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 07:00:03 +0000
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