China’s state broadcaster airs first public footage of DF-17 hypersonic missile launch

China’s state broadcaster CCTV released the first public footage of the DF-17 nuclear-capable hypersonic missile system on Monday, Newsweek reported. The broadcast showed the camera zooming in on the wedge-shaped hypersonic glide vehicle mounted atop the DF-17 before the missile launched vertically from a transporter erector launcher in the Gobi Desert.

The DF-17 made its public debut during the National Day military parade on October 1, 2019.

The new footage aired ahead of the July 1 anniversary marking 60 years since the founding of the predecessor of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force. The medium-range DF-17 was the first hypersonic weapon to enter service with China’s military. The DF-17 is believed to have a range of roughly 1,100 to 1,550 miles.

Its road-mobile design places areas such as the South China Sea and U.S. military bases in Japan within reach. Hypersonic missiles are generally defined as weapons capable of traveling at least five times the speed of sound.

Viewers also briefly saw what appeared to be an upgraded variant of the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile. The DF-26 is estimated to have a range between 1,860 and 3,410 miles. Chinese military analyst Du Wenlong stated during the CCTV program Military Time that it is likely the latest, improved version of the DF-26, indicating the Dongfeng series is being presented as a large-scale system.

The Pentagon wrote in its annual report on Chinese military power released in December that China has the world's leading hypersonic missile arsenal and continued to advance the development of conventional and nuclear-armed hypersonic missile technologies during the past year.