Research and development work on the creation of the DF-26 extended-range ballistic missile (BR) was started by the staff of the 6th Scientific Research Institute of the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in July 1999.
For the first time, information appeared in open sources in 2007.
By 2013, several rocket prototypes had been created.
In 2014, work was completed on conventional and special combat units (warheads).
In 2015, the missile system was put into military pilot operation.
The DF-26 ballistic missile is designed to combat carrier-based strike groups of the US Navy at a range of about 2,500 km from the maritime border of China.
If, as of 2020, this missile system was in service with three missile brigades, then by the middle of 2025, nine missile brigades had already received this type of weapon. By mid-2026, two more brigades of the PLA Missile Forces will receive the missiles in question.
With this in mind, the total number of missiles on the launchers is about 350 units, and about 660 missiles are placed on the main ramps and intermediate reloading sites.
Every month, defense industry enterprises transfer five missiles of this modification to the PLA RV.
The appearance of the BR DF-26 launcher
The following tactical and technical characteristics are known for the DF-26 rocket: length 14 m, body diameter 1.4 m, launch weight 20 tons. The weight of the warhead can vary from 1200 to 1800 kg, depending on the equipment.
The separable special warhead consists of three blocks weighing 500 kg each – the capacity of each block in TNT equivalent is about 300 kT. Missiles with a convective warhead are designated DF-26C, with a special warhead DF-26B.
The cost of the rocket, according to various estimates, ranges from 15 to 20 million US dollars.
Navigation and guidance are provided by the inertial module, the receiver of the Beidou global positioning system signal, as well as the active radar homing head. The speed on the middle section of the trajectory is about MACH 10. The maximum speed on the final section of the trajectory reaches MACH 18.
In both variants, a set of false targets is installed under the head fairing, which increases the likelihood of a missile defense breakthrough. Mobile ground-based missile systems with DF-26 type missiles have a 12x12 chassis scheme. The resource of the PU is 3 starts.
According to the instructions on tactics of use, at least 50 DF-26 units should be used at a time in a salvo at an aircraft carrier strike group of the US Navy, in order to ensure the possibility of breaking through missile defense lines for 20% of missiles. Loading is carried out by a two-crane transport-charging machine. The time for this operation is 15 minutes.
The moment of loading the DF-26 missile from a transport-charging vehicle onto a mobile launcher (captured during the exercises held in October 2024)
DF-26 launches- test in July 2016 (10 units), in August 2020 (from Zhejiang Province to a designated area in the South China Sea). As part of the exercises of the RV of the Southern Military District – August 2023, May 2024, October 2024 (20 units), May 2025.
It should be noted that the DF-26 missiles have been repeatedly used as part of tests of HQ-19 and 29 missile defense systems as simulators of missiles of a potential enemy.
Source: specialized military-technical publications of the PRC
