China displays nuclear triad for 1st time; unveils new long-range missile at military parade

In a clear display of its expanding nuclear capabilities, China on Wednesday unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Dong Feng-61 (DF-61), and for the first time publicly displayed its nuclear triad—the ability to launch nuclear weapons from air, land, and sea.

The ‘nuclear triad’ was showcased during a military parade in Beijing, where China's land, sea, and air-based strategic forces were on display together for the first time.

The JingLei-1 (JL-1), an air-launched long-range missile, was displayed publicly for the first time, indicating the triad is complete.

Previously, China had showcased its land-based nuclear missiles like the DF-41, and the submarine-launched JuLang-3 (JL-3) intercontinental ballistic missile. Together, these three components—land, sea, and air—form the nuclear triad.

“The weapons are China's strategic ‘ace’ power to safeguard the country's sovereignty and nation's dignity,” the Chinese military said.

India had announced its triad in November 2018 when the indigenous nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarine INS Arihant carried out its ‘deterrence patrol’—a cold war era term used to denote readiness to launch a nuke.

The United States, UK, France and Russia too have a triad.

The new Chinese missiles, DF-61 and JL-1, a separate set of previously unseen high-speed strike missiles, new armed drones and a new extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV) were part of a military parade in Beijing.

The XLUUV is a platform that could potentially be used to damage undersea telecom cables and also under sea gas pipelines—like the damage to the Nord Stream pipeline in Europe.

In strategic circles, it was long doubted that China has been developing next-generation ICBMs, -- like the DF-61 --- as a successor to DF-41, that was first unveiled at a parade in 2019.

This is a part of build-up of China’s nuclear arsenal, a US Department of Defence annual report on China has expressed fears of a growing threat. 

The DF-61 – details of which are not known so far — was displayed at the parade on board a truck-trailer. A canister with DF-61 written on it was part of the parade-- whether the canister had an actual missile inside is not known.

China is not known to announce projects in advance. The DF-41 was first shown publicly at a military parade in 2019, however, its development started a decade prior to that. The missile begun entering operational service in 2017.

DF-41 has an estimated range of between 12,000 and 15,000 km, and can carry up to 10 multiple independently-targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) warheads.

The US Department of Defence, in its report to the US Congress titled ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China-2024’, stated that the Chinese PLARF (People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force) is advancing its long-term modernisation plans to enhance its ‘strategic deterrence’ capabilities.

The report in an earnest hint to the DF-61 had said: “The PRC (China) is developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces and will require increased nuclear warhead production.”

China is expected to continue modernising, diversifying, and rapildly expanding its nuclear forces. According to the US report, the PLA seeks a larger and more diverse nuclear force, comprised of systems ranging from low-yield precision strike missiles to ICBMs with multi-megaton yields to provide it multiple options on the escalation ladder.

The US estimates that China surpassed 600 operational nuclear warheads in its stockpile as of mid-2024 and will have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. It will keep growing through at least 2035.

Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech from the Tiananmen rostrum and then inspected the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from a parade car. It was the third major military parade in Tiananmen Square that Xi is overseeing as President.

World leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim were seated on the rostrum, along with serving and former top officials and generals.

The Parade called by China as the 80th anniversary of “People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression”. It is basically a commemoration of the World-War II (1939-1945). China was then partnering the US, UK and France against Germany, Japan and Italy.