Article Summary and Key Points: China’s DF-26B “Carrier Killer” missile is a road-mobile, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) capable of striking U.S. aircraft carriers and bases as far as Guam. With a range of 4,000 km, the DF-26B is a key component of China’s anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy in the Pacific.
Key Point #1 – The U.S. Navy is developing layered defenses, including Rolling Airframe Missiles, SM-series interceptors, Phalanx CIWS, and electronic warfare from EA-18 Growlers, to counter the threat. However, the effectiveness of these defenses remains uncertain.
Key Point #2 – As tensions rise, the DF-26B presents a formidable challenge, potentially reshaping U.S. naval operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
China’s DF-26B Missile: A Real Threat to U.S. Aircraft Carriers?
I recently wrote about the potential shortage of Tomahawk cruise missiles in the United States. However, China does not; the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) DF-26 (Dong Feng-26) is a road-mobile, two-stage, solid-fueled, intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 4,000 km. It is China’s first conventionally armed ballistic missile capable of striking Guam.
China has been building an anti-ship version of the DF-26 B missile, which has been in production since 2016. The country is investing heavily in missile development. The Dong Feng (East Wind) is commonly known as the “Guam Express” or the “Carrier Killer.”
US Monitors China Missile Development
Vice Adm. Jeffrey Trussler, the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare (OPNAV N2/N6), said, “I’m not going to get [into] much more detail of what we know and don’t know about it.
“But they’re pouring a lot of money in the ability to basically rim their coast in the South China Sea with anti-ship missile capability. It’s a destabilizing effort in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea, all those areas. When their claims of some of these contested islands – they’re militarizing those areas,” Trussler said at a virtual event hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.
“That’s something we’re going to watch very closely. It’s something that confuses the international order and concerns the allies in the region. It’s one reason we work to keep the global commons open and the free flow of traffic,” he added.
“But when you see that – those are troubling developments. They’re probably aimed and specifically developed towards the United States Navy. So we watch them very closely. I hope they just keep pouring money into that type of thing. That may not be how we win the next war.”
The Dong Feng DF-26B
The missile is 14 meters long and weighs 20,000 kilograms at launch. The warhead is a 1,200-1,800 kilogram thermonuclear or conventional device. China is expected to use it against Nimitz or Ford-class aircraft carriers if a war broke out.
China first unveiled the DF-26B at a military parade in Beijing. At the event, China displayed 16 missiles on road-mobile transporter-erector launchers (TELs).
Official commentary during the parade described the missile as possessing both nuclear and conventional capabilities, a claim corroborated by US Department of Defense assessments. According to the US Department of Defense, China began fielding the DF-26 in 2016.
It is believed that China was “sending a message” to Washington in 2020 while it was conducting test launches of the “carrier killers” in the South China Sea. Beijing accused Washington of sending U-2 spy planes into a “no-fly zone” during a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off China’s north coast.
The US Navy Is Layering Its Defenses
The Navy knows just how vulnerable US aircraft carriers are in the South China Sea. If China sent a swarm of missiles at US carriers, it would take only one to get through to turn the situation into a disaster.
To counter this threat against its carriers, the US Navy is deploying a layered defense system that includes Rolling Airframe Missiles, SM-series interceptors, and Phalanx close-in weapon systems.
Carrier strike groups’ escort ships utilize an Aegis weapon system to protect the flotilla from launched enemy aircraft and missiles. EA-18 Growlers will also be used to jam the incoming missiles or aircraft electronically. Will it be enough?
Image of DF-17 missile. Image: Creative Commons.
It is hard to predict because we don’t truly know the capabilities of the Chinese munitions or missiles. However, the Navy is trying to incorporate new weapons to defend the carriers.
The stealth aerial re-fueling drone called the MQ-25 Stingray can keep the F-35s, F/A-18 Super Hornets, and EA-18 Growlers in the air with longer ranges to keep the carriers out of missile range. Sea Sparrow and Phalanx weapons are for close-in defenses. The Navy has been testing a directed energy laser weapon to defeat incoming missiles.
The DF-26B is a definite carrier killer; the Navy knows this and is planning accordingly, but it will be quite a battle if it indeed comes true.
Military vehicles carrying DF-21D ballistic missiles roll to Tiananmen Square during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, September 3, 2015. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
