Estimated flightpath of China's ICBM on 25 September 2024. (Janes)
China appears to have carried out the country's first long-range test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in decades, despite having issued a statement to seemingly downplay the event.
In the statement issued on 25 September, China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) disclosed that it had carried out a test firing of an ICBM at 0844 h local time that day.
The missile was launched by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), and it carried a ‘simulated warhead' into a ‘predetermined area' in the Pacific Ocean, reads the statement from the MND.
“The missile launch is a routine arrangement for annual military training, which conforms to international law and practice, and is not aimed at any specific country or target,” the statement added.
Probable path
No further details on the test were released, and the MND has yet to distribute any visuals that might identify the ICBM that was fired on 25 September.
Citing series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China hours before the test, Janes first reported on 25 September that the ICBM was launched from or near Wenchang county in Hainan province.
However, when read together with maritime navigational warnings that have since been circulated online, these NOTAMs now suggest that the launch site was likely located on near Hainan island in southern China.
These NOTAMs came with co-ordinates to avoid due to ‘aerospace flight activity' and suggested that the designated splashdown zone for the ICBM is located about 1,900 n miles southeast of Honolulu island.
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