China's desert test: Ballistic missile targets mock US ship
The Chinese have conducted a mock warfare exercise against the United States, according to the Ukrainian portal Defense Express. In a specially prepared environment, Beijing struck a mock American ship with a ballistic missile.
China organised additional tests of their anti-ship ballistic missile at a range located in the Taklamakan Desert. In the published video, one can see the missile launch and its impact on the ship's mock-up. The missile, which analysts at Defense Express believe is most likely the DF-21D model, has a range of up to 1,545 kilometres and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Modern guidance systems
In the short video released online, the Chinese are seen launching a missile towards the Taklamakan Desert. This location is not coincidental, as a massive railway line of about 40 kilometres was built there. Mock ships, including American ones, move along this line to simulate ship movements at sea.
The target dummies move on rails but are several times smaller than real vessels. Defense Express notes that the object hit by the DF-21D missile was about 80 metres long. This means the dummy is at least twice as small as Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. However, a smaller target is a better test for the missile, as it must be much more accurate to hit the unit.
The DF-21D missile, which the Chinese most likely used for testing in the Taklamakan Desert, is a two-stage anti-ship ballistic missile that uses solid fuel for propulsion and entered service in 2006.
It is estimated that the range of this missile reaches nearly 1,600 kilometres. The warhead on the DF-21D weighs up to 600 kilograms and can be conventional or nuclear. The main advantage of this missile is its self-guidance system, which, using GPS data among other things, is capable of striking a small moving ship with high precision.
