China Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Capable of Reaching U.S. Mainland

China made a bold move on Thursday by publicly releasing a photograph of the previous day’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching most of the continental United States. The Chinese military’s media wing, China Junhao, posted the photo online, showcasing the missile being fired from a transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicle.

While the exact type of missile was not disclosed in the photo, nuclear policy analyst Ankit Panda identified it as a DF-31AG, with a reported range of 6,959 miles. This range makes it capable of reaching the U.S. mainland from various deployment areas in China.

The U.S. Defense Department confirmed that it had received advanced notification from China about the test, a move praised by Pentagon’s deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh as a way to prevent misperception or miscalculation. However, China does not have a formal agreement with the U.S. for pre-launch notifications of ballistic missile tests.

The missile launch comes at a time when the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning was conducting operations in the Philippine Sea with a fleet of warships. Speculation on Chinese social media suggested that the carrier strike group might be heading towards the warhead’s splash zone in the South Pacific.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, on the other hand, made a scheduled stop at Guam on its way back to the U.S. after a deployment to the Middle East this summer.

This latest development underscores China’s growing military capabilities and its willingness to showcase them on the global stage. The strategic implications of this missile test and the movements of Chinese naval assets in the region are sure to be closely monitored by international observers.