On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, Beijing hosted the central celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II in the Far East, attended by many international guests, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the military parade—described as the largest in the history of the People’s Republic of China—among the technological innovations on display were new missile systems.
- The DongFeng-61 (DF-61) intercontinental ballistic missile:
Photos: Chinese internet
- The DongFeng-31BJ (DF-31BJ) intercontinental ballistic missile:
- The Jinglei-1 (JL-1) air-launched missile:
The JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile in the background
JL-1, JL-3, and DF-61
According to preliminary analyses, the DF-61, carried on a 16-axle HTF5980 transporter-erector-launcher, may be a new version or successor to the DF-41 missile with a range of 12,000–15,000 km. The range of the new missile is estimated at no less than 12,000 km. Meanwhile, the DF-31BJ is likely an upgraded variant of the DF-31AG, but intended for underground silos, as indicated by the letter “J” (here carried on a wheeled platform designed for loading into such silos, but shown for parade purposes).
According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), based on new information from parade footage, China now appears to possess nine different versions of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles: DF-5A, DF-5B, DF-5C, DF-27 (not yet publicly displayed), DF-31A, DF-31AG, DF-31BJ, DF-41, and DF-61. Five are mobile and four silo-based; three use liquid fuel, four solid fuel, and the propulsion of two remains unconfirmed. At least one carries multiple nuclear warheads in a MIRV (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicle) configuration, at least one is a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), at least one has a warhead with a yield of several megatons (MT), and one may even be capable of carrying a conventional warhead.
In the case of the Jinglei-1 (from Mandarin Chinese: “sudden thunder”), it should not be confused with the Julang-1 (“giant wave”) submarine-launched ballistic missile, despite sharing the same JL-1 designation. Jinglei-1 is most likely the missile first spotted in October 2020, carried under the fuselage of an H-6N bomber.
The parade also showcased previously known missile systems: the DF-26D (a new conventional variant of the DF-26 missile, which can also carry a nuclear warhead), the DF-17 equipped with Wu-14/DF-ZF glide vehicles instead of a traditional warhead, as well as the hypersonic (powered) cruise missile CJ-100/DF-100 (also designated DF-20).
DF-26D
DF-17
Tactical hypersonic missiles YJ-21, YJ-19, and YJ-17 were also on display:
YJ-17
YJ-19
YJ-21
