On September 25, the Chinese military launched a Dongfeng-31AG (DF-31AG) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Hainan Province, deploying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean. The missile, reportedly operated by the 632nd Missile Brigade of the 63rd PLA Rocket Forces Base, has an estimated range of atleast 11,200 kilometers , making it capable of delivering a nuclear strike to most of the continental United States.

Although China did not provide specific details regarding the exact launch site or the location of the warhead’s splash zone, civil aviation advisories indicated that the missile was fired from the southern island of Hainan. The warhead is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean, north of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

The DF-31AG is an advanced, longer-range version of the DF-31, China’s first solid-fuel, road-mobile ICBM. Likely transported by rail and then ferried by sea, the missile was moved from the Chinese mainland to Hainan via a cross-sea railway linking the island with Guangdong Province, which borders the South China Sea.

Images circulated on Chinese social media shortly after the test showed a DF-31AG missile launcher driving on the island of Hainan. This road-mobile system adds a layer of flexibility to China’s nuclear deterrent, given its ability to be relocated before launch. Capable of striking vast distances, the DF-31 AG missile can target the continental United States.