China will unveil a never-before-seen variant of the Dong Feng-26 ballistic missile at a major military parade next month. The destructive weapon dubbed the ‘Guam Killer’ for its ability to reach the strategic American territory comes amid rising global tensions.
Observers managed to spot the intermediate-range missile during rehearsals for the event which will take over Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3. It will also mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a conflict that took the lives of between 15 and 20 million Chinese people ranging from civilians and military personnel.
The original DF-26, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, is claimed to have a range of over 5,000km which is equal to approximately 3,100 miles.
It is reported the new variant may certainly have precision nuclear capabilities, and can be used on both ground and naval targets.
Sources also claim the DF-26D incorporates active radar seekers, multi-spectral sensors, and advanced decoys to defeat Western missile defence shields in what is unwelcome news for the Pentagon’s proposed Golden Dome technology.
South-Korean based Military Watch Magazine said on Tuesday: “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.”
In what is stark news for the UK and other allied nations, Malaysian outlet Defence Security Asia described the ‘Guam Killer’ as “a dramatic escalation in the Indo-Pacific arms race, threatening US bases, aircraft carriers, and regional security stability.”
The DF-28D 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”.
Guam is widely considered to be an attractive target for Beijing should conflict between both the States and China erupt. The island, the closest to the South China Sea, is a regional flashpoint that serves as a crucial military hub for Donald Trump.
It is home to Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam, as well as Camp Blaz — a gargantuan Marine Corps base that is considered operational but is still under construction.
