DF-21D: To counter U.S. naval capabilities, China’s military plan places a major emphasis on building up its stockpile of ballistic missiles dubbed as “carrier killers,” or Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21D).
China uses the DF-21, which replaced the Dong Feng-2 in the 1990s, as a key component of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategies to thwart American interference in local disputes.
National Interest reported that with more than 1,000 missiles, the DF-21D model might theoretically threaten American aircraft carriers more than 1,000 miles offshore by precisely targeting marine threats. These advances highlight the strategic changes in contemporary military confrontations and provide a significant threat to US naval dominance in the Western Pacific.
The Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21) is a vital component of China’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of eliminating carriers.
The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force has well over 1,000 of these medium-range weapons, according to a Pentagon assessment that was made public last year. Beijing uses the two-stage, solid-fuel DF-21 rocket missile as a key component of its anti-access/area denial strategy. With only three aircraft carriers compared to the U.S. Navy’s eleven, Beijing is dependent on its ballistic missile stockpile to ward off American meddling.
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The Background of DF-21D
Early in the 1990s, Beijing replaced the old Dong Feng-2 with the DF-21. The Dong Feng was the result of cooperative research and development with the Soviet Union, much like many other military systems China created in the latter part of the 20th century. Many of China’s weapons were adapted from Soviet designs, from manufacturing tools and technical data to licensed production. The Dong Feng was, in actuality, a licenced replica of the Soviet R-2 short-range ballistic missile prototype.
The DF-21D became the first anti-ship ballistic missile in history when it was deployed in 1996. This carrier killer, which was propelled by a two-stage solid propellant motor, was Beijing’s first solid-fuel road-mobile missile. The weapon has a maximum range of 2,150 kilometres and can deliver a 600-kilogram payload.
The DF-21A variant has a launch weight of around 15,000 kg and a redesigned nose portion. The DF-21 family of missiles includes two sub-variant types: land-attack and anti-ship. A conventional variant of the series, the DF-21C can deploy at a projected range of over 2,000 miles. The DF-21D is intended to attack ships in the ocean. The DF-21D’s warhead is probably precise and movable to within 20 meters, just like those of its predecessors.
Is DF-21D a “Carrier Killer”?
From a U.S. aircraft carrier, F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35C Lightning II fighters can launch and reach a distance of around 500 miles. A U.S. ship would need to be positioned more than 1,000 miles offshore in order to avoid risking annihilation by the missile, given the DF-21D’s stated range. In addition, if a DF-21 is launched, it might be equipped with over-the-horizon radars, maritime intelligence capabilities, and other threat amplifiers.
In a 2020 report, the Congressional Research Service warned that “China’s navy is viewed as posing a major challenge to the U.S. Navy’s ability to achieve and maintain wartime control of blue-water ocean areas in the Western Pacific—the first such challenge the U.S. Navy has faced since the end of the Cold War.” The report detailed the growing threat these ballistic missiles pose to U.S. interests in the South China Sea.
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China’s ballistic missiles pose a threat not only to ships at sea but also to American forces and infrastructure stationed in Japan, as the nation is already within striking distance of numerous of these lethal weapons.
“The PLA had only a few dozen relatively inaccurate conventionally armed short-range missiles in 1996, which could reach targets in Taiwan or Korea but not U.S. bases in Japan. The PLA was also just starting to develop conventionally armed ballistic missiles.” Nonetheless, by 2015, the Second Artillery of the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] had deployed over 1,200 conventionally armed ballistic missiles, including the DF-21C, which has the range to strike targets all over Japan.
A thorough grasp of the PLA’s actual capabilities is imperative as South China Sea tensions continue to rise. The extent of Beijing’s recent military system and weaponry development is alarming, even though many of them have never been used in conflict.
