China shows off its most powerful ‘doomsday’ ballistic missile yet packed with TEN nukes that can strike anywhere on Earth
CHINESE military officials have paraded their new "doomsday" ballistic missile - packed with ten nuclear weapons that can strike any part of the world.
The Dongfeng-41 (DF-41) missile, which has a longer range than any other intercontinental ballistic missile, has undergone its eighth test and is now near completion, according to state-run media.
China's newspaper reported the DF-41 could be used in the first half of 2018.
With a speed of more than Mach 10 (7,672 mph), the missile is said to be able to use decoy devices.
With an estimated range of up to 9,300m, the DF-41 tramples over North Korea's newly-released Hwasong-15 which has an estimated range of 8,000m.
Describing the missile, Military expert Yang Chengjun said on China Central Television: "The missile can hit every corner of the earth, allowing China to counter a nuclear strike on the country."
Confirming its release, Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association told Global Times: "Once the Dongfeng-41 goes into service, China's ability to protect its own safety and to prevent wars would greatly increase."
Dr Malcom Davis, a senior analyst in defence strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute confirmed it is China's most advanced ICBM.
But he believes officials only developed the missile to counter those developed by the United States.
Dr Davis said the missile would carry "penetration aids 'penaids' which are designed to confuse US defences".
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According to reports, the missile;s most recent test took place this month in the nation's desert region.
Nuclear disarmament campaigner John Hallam said the DF-41 s comparable to Russia's biggest missiles.
He said: "The backbone of China’s strategic force has always been the somewhat ancient DF-5 missile, each with a single 5 megaton warhead (by far) the biggest warhead in actual military use.
"For a long time there were just 20 of these things, but a few years back the Chinese started to upgrade, update, and add to the DF5’s, so there might be 30 now, and they started to deploy something called the DF-41 — the same designation as this one.
"Just one of these missiles, with 10 warheads each of 100,000 plus range, could essentially destroy either the major cities or the significant military capacity of the United States, especially if command and control nodes are prioritised."
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