A row of Dong Feng-26 missiles parade past observers at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in this undated photo. (Defense Intelligence Agency)
China is set to unveil a new variant of its Dong Feng-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile, dubbed the “Guam Killer” for its capacity to reach that strategic American territory, according to defense media reports.
Observers spotted the missile during rehearsals as China prepares for a major military parade on Sept. 3 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
“Although many of the weapons systems recently unveiled have seen their service entries long anticipated, the development of a new DF-26D variant was not widely predicted and represents a highly unwelcome development for U.S. and broader Western Bloc interests,” the South Korea-based Military Watch Magazine reported Tuesday.
The new variant’s emergence signals “a dramatic escalation in the Indo-Pacific arms race, threatening U.S. bases, aircraft carriers, and regional security stability,” the Malaysia-based online news site Defence Security Asia reported Monday.
The DF-26D is “not just an incremental upgrade but a potentially game-changing weapon tailored to threaten U.S. aircraft carriers, naval task forces, and bases as far away as Guam,” the Malaysian site reported.
Guam would be an attractive target for China in the event of armed conflict with the United States.
The island — the westernmost American territory and the closest to the South China Sea — a regional flashpoint, serves as a crucial military hub.
The island is home to Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam and Camp Blaz, a massive Marine Corps base that is operational but still under construction.
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier-led strike groups routinely patrol the contested South China Sea and near Taiwan, which China plans to bring under Beijing’s control, by military force if necessary.
“Unlike its predecessors, the DF-26D is believed to incorporate active radar seekers, multi-spectral sensors, and advanced decoys to defeat Western missile defense shields,” such as the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, Defence Security Asia reported.
Such a variant is unwelcome news for the Pentagon’s ongoing work in developing a 360-degree, integrated missile-defense system for Guam for protection against cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks.
The system will integrate THAAD, the Patriot defense system and the not-yet-fielded Indirect Fire Protection Capability, or IFPC, which is a mobile, ground-based system used against cruise missiles, drones, rockets and mortars.
The Pentagon has expressed concern over China’s fielding of the DF-26 in 2016.
“The multi-role DF-26 is designed to rapidly swap conventional and nuclear warheads and is capable of conducting precision land-attack and anti-ship strikes in the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the [South China Sea] from mainland China,” the Pentagon said in December in its annual report to Congress on China’s military capabilities.
It has an estimated range of 3,100 miles.
The DF-26 is “the most likely weapon system to field a lower-yield warhead in the near term,” the report said.
