China's Defense Ministry Appears to Confirm New Missile Test

Source: ABC NEWS

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING — Apr 21, 2016, 8:49 AM ET

China's Defense Ministry appeared Thursday to confirm a test of an intercontinental missile.

A three-sentence statement posted on the ministry's website posed the question of whether China had fired an ICBM in the area of the disputed South China Sea, which is claimed almost entirely by China.

In its response, the ministry said China maintains that "technological research experiments conducted according to plan within China's boundaries are normal and are not aimed at any specific nations or targets." Media reports about the location of the test were "purely speculation," it said.

The statement follows a report in the U.S. newspaper Washington Free Beacon that quoted unidentified Pentagon officials as saying China tested its longest-range DF-41 missile with two multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles on Tuesday. The report did not say where the test took place, but referenced recent tensions between China and the U.S. over Beijing's actions to shore up its claims to the South China Sea.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chinas-defense-ministry-appears-confirm-missile-test-38564777

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China Tests ICBM Capable Of Striking US Within Half An Hour

Beijing has successfully tested a new long-range ballistic missile capable of engaging any potential target worldwide. The rocket takes just 30 minutes to cover its maximum 12,000km range and can deliver multiple strikes on any nuclear-capable state.

The launch of China’s Dongfeng-41 (East Wind, DF-41) missile was registered by the US satellite tracking system in real time, the Washington Free Beacon reports, although the location of the launch was not immediately revealed. The launch was made from a new road-mobile platform, and is reportedly the seventh test-firing of the DF-41.

American experts estimate the DF-41 to be an 80-ton, three-stage solid-fuel missile capable of carrying between six and 10 nuclear warheads.

The test was made with a DF-41 missile armed with two independently targetable reentry vehicles.

“As with previous MIRV tests, the PLA has used a small number of reentry vehicles to mask the real capability of the DF-41, which is estimated to be able to loft up to 10 warheads,” the WFB cited China military affairs analyst Rick Fisher as saying.

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https://www.rt.com/news/340359-china-test-ballistic-missile/