OVERVIEW:  The DF-26C aka Dong Feng 26C is a two-stage, solid fuel, road-mobile IRBM, armed with a 1,200 - 1,800 kg conventional payload or a nuclear warhead.  

DETAILS:  The DF-26 is based on the DF-21 IRBM.  It likely intended for use in long range, war-opening preemptive or suppressive strikes  aimed at neutralizing an adversary’s forward forces and military infrastructure including logistics and power projection assets and opportunistic strikes against fleeting high campaign-value targets.  

According to China, the DF-26C uses a larger version of the maneuverable warhead used in the DF-21.   It is likely that this missile has internal navigation system with indigenous Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation system, although some sources have claimed that  guidance inputs may be fed to the missile from a variety of inputs, including satellites, ground, and naval radar, in addition to radar on the missile itself.  Accuracy is estimated at between 10-100 m CEP. 

 The DF-26 is reportedly capable of quickly switching (“hot-swappable”) between a variety of conventional and nuclear payloads.  Warheads may include nuclear, conventional explosive, ground penetrators and fuel-air explosives.


Specifications:

Maximum Range:			2160 nm; (est)
CEP:		 		10-100 meters (est)


NOTES:  IOC 2016. An anti-ship variant, the DF-26B, was tested in 2020

  

SOURCES: DoD "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the PRC, 2019" https://media.defense.gov/2019/May/02/2002127082/-1/-1/1/2019_CHINA_MILITARY_POWER_REPORT.pdf, pg. 44; US-CHina Economic and Security Review Commission, "China's Expanding Ability to Conduct Conventional Missile Strikes on Guam" 10 May 2016, https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/Staff%20Report_China's%20Expanding%20Ability%20to%20Conduct%20Conventional%20Missile%20Strikes%20on%20Guam.pdf  ;  Administrator. DF-26 Intermediate-range Ballistic Missile Data Pictures Video | China Chinese Army Missile Systems Vehicles | Chinese China Army Military Equipment Armoured UK. January 13, 2019. https://www.armyrecognition.com/china_chinese_army_missile_systems_vehicles/df-26_intermediate-range_ballistic_missile_technical_data_sheet_specifications_pictures_video_11202167.html. ; China Touts Capabilities of DF-26 As ASBM. January 28, 2019. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/china-touts-capabilities-of-df-26-as-asbm. ; China Touts Capabilities of DF-26 As ASBM. January 28, 2019. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/china-touts-capabilities-of-df-26-as-asbm. ; DF-26 Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile | Military-Today.com. n.d. https://www.military-today.com/missiles/df_26.htm. ; DF-26 Intermediate-range Missile (The Guam Killer). February 1, 2019. https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2019/02/12/df-26-intermediate-range-missile-the-guam-killer/. ; DF-26. August 6, 2021. https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/dong-feng-26-df-26/#easy-footnote-bottom-11-3522. ; Dong Feng-26 – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. n.d. https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/china/df-26/. ; Strategic Weapons: Potential Versus Proven Threats. n.d. https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/hticbm/articles/20190321.aspx.
