China has reportedly tested a new modification of its Dongfeng-5 ICBM capable of carrying a payload of 10 individual warheads. The test may indicate a shift in China’s nuclear policy or an attempt to put pressure on the Trump administration, experts say.
In the flight test of the DF-5C missile conducted in January, the rocket was fired from the Taiyuan Space Launch Center in central China and to an impact range in the western Taklamakan desert, reports the Washington Free Beacon’s senior editor, Bill Gertz, citing US defense sources.
The missile was carrying a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) bus containing ten inert warheads. Earlier versions of the DF-5 have either a single warhead or from six to eight MIRVs, according to estimates.
