DF-5 (CSS-4)

The database category for this entry should be interpreted cautiously: CSS-4 is not a short-range ballistic missile. It is the NATO designation for the DF-5 intercontinental ballistic missile family. CSIS lists DF-5 alternate names as Dong Feng-5 and CSS-4, with silo basing, two-stage liquid propulsion, nuclear payloads, and an operational 13,000 km range. The equipment page should therefore emphasize strategic deterrence, large fixed launch infrastructure, and nuclear delivery instead of regional battlefield strike.

CSS-4's design reflects an earlier generation of Chinese strategic missiles: large, liquid-fueled, and silo-based. CSIS gives a 32.6-meter length, 3.35-meter diameter, and 183,000 kg launch weight for the DF-5 family, while NASIC places CSS-4 Mod 2 and Mod 3 in the ICBM category. Those figures explain why it belongs in strategic-force inventories rather than tactical missile lists. The system's strengths are range and payload; its constraints are fixed basing, liquid-fuel handling, and the need for protected launch sites.

Operationally, CSS-4 spans more than one configuration. Earlier DF-5A/CSS-4 Mod 2 systems carried a single nuclear warhead, while DF-5B/CSS-4 Mod 3 added multiple-warhead capability. NASIC lists CSS-4 Mod 3 with multiple warheads and a 12,000 km-plus range class, and CSIS describes the DF-5B as a MIRVed evolution of the DF-5A. That transition helps explain the system's persistence: even as China deployed mobile solid-fueled ICBMs, the existing DF-5 silo force remained useful after modernization.