PLA milestones: How China has built its military might

DF-26 missiles are displayed during the military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing, Sept 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Missiles capable of sinking aircraft carriers

Among the military hardware on display during a grand military parade in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the DF-26 and DF-21D were the stars of the parade, senior colonel Shao Yongling, a military strategy professor at the PLA Second Artillery Corps Command College, told China Daily in an interview.

"The DF-26 can be used to destroy ground targets and mobile seaborne targets. The missile has closed the gap in the PLA Second Artillery Corps' strike range, as we previously lacked intermediate-range projection platforms because the DF-21 is for medium-range tasks while the DF-31 is for intercontinental projection," she said.

The DF-21D and DF-26 are likely to be the only two ballistic missiles in the world that are capable of sinking aircraft carriers, Shao added.

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