DF-31

The PRC began developing the DF-31 ICBM in January 1985.[8] ARMT (then called the 4th Aerospace Academy) was appointed as the main contractor while the research arm of the Second Artillery Corps provided contributing support. The land-based variant of the JL-2 was originally called the DF-23 but was changed later on to the DF-31 because of a change in operational requirements. In 1999, the missile was first displayed publicly at the National Day Parade.[9] On August 2, 1999, the Chinese state news media reported the successful test of the DF-31.[8] The third test flight of the missile occurred on November 4, 2000; the second test flight had taken place earlier that year.[10] Operational deployment of the missiles reportedly began in 2006.[11] In 2009, US Air Force Intelligence reported that under 15 DF-31 missiles had been deployed.[6]

The DF-31 is a three stage solid-fuel rocket equipped with an inertial navigation system. The missile is mounted on a transporter erector launcher. It is capable of reaching targets throughout Europe, Asia, and parts of Canada and the northwestern United States.[7]

The PRC has developed an improved variant of the DF-31 called the DF-31A. This upgraded missile has a reported range of 11,200 km,[3] will allow targeting of most of the continental United States[7] and was designed with MIRV capability to hold 3 to 5 warheads, each capable of a 20–150 kt yield, but is thought to be armed with only one warhead with penetration and decoy aids to complicate missile defense efforts.[1][1][6] The missile was shown to the public during the parade in Beijing celebrating 70 years since the end of World War II on September 3, 2015.[12] It can carry maneuverable reentry vehicles.[13]

The PRC has developed an improved variant of the DF-31A called the DF-31AG (G stands for 改 (Gaï), "modified)[14] or DF-31B with an off-road 8 axle TEL and MIRVs.[15][16] China has successfully tested it from a mobile launcher.[17] The missile's TEL features an extra pair of elevators near the aft of the missile unlike the TELs of the DF-31 or DF-31A, suggesting a heavier missile second and third stage than earlier variants.[18] On the military parade marking the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army in 2017, DF-31AG ICBM was officially demonstrated.[19]

• Giacometti, Nicolas (10 April 2014). "China's Nuclear Modernization and the End of Nuclear Opacity". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 12 April 2014.

• CSIS Missile Threat - Dong Feng-31
• Encyclopedia Astronautica