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| DF-26 (TEL) Transporter Erector Launcher (Chinese Internet) |
The People's Liberation Army's DF-26 missile is an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) without peer in the world, the Beijing-based Sina Military Network claims.
International standards consider guided missiles to be IRBMs if they have a range of more than 3,000 kilometers. Due to China's geopolitical considerations, however, the PLA only considers a missile to be an IRBM if it has a range of greater than 4,000 km.
China's first-generation IRBM is the DF-4, which represents a number of breakthroughs in weapons technology such as multi-stage rockets, warhead heat resistance, high-altitude ignition engines and inertial navigation, the report said.
The DF-4 provided the foundations for the country's satellite-launching and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology. The Long March 1 carrier rocket which launched China's first satellite in 1970 was developed from DF-4 technology.
Read the full story at Want China Times