Dongfeng-31

Dongfeng-31, usually written DF-31, is a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile family operated by the PLA Rocket Force. CSIS describes it as a three-stage solid-fueled ICBM with estimated range from roughly 7,000 to 11,700 km across variants. Its strategic importance comes from road mobility and solid propulsion. Compared with older liquid-fueled silo missiles, DF-31-family launchers can disperse and reduce vulnerability to preemptive attack, which supports a more survivable nuclear deterrent posture.

The original DF-31 is a canisterized, road-mobile missile carried on a wheeled launcher and armed with a single nuclear warhead. CSIS notes that later DF-31A and DF-31AG variants improved range, launcher mobility, or dispersal options. NASIC's 2020 assessment separates CSS-10 Mod 1 and CSS-10 Mod 2 ICBMs as solid-propellant road-mobile systems, with Mod 2 in the 11,000 km-plus range class. The design trajectory is therefore a move toward more survivable and flexible strategic forces rather than a one-off missile model.

Operationally, DF-31-family missiles are central to China's effort to field a survivable second-strike force. Road-mobile launchers can relocate, hide, and operate with fewer fixed signatures than silo-only systems. That does not make the missile invulnerable; communications, command and control, basing patterns, and reconnaissance pressure still matter. But the DF-31 family changes the targeting problem for any opponent and complements China's older CSS-4/DF-5 silo force and newer DF-41-class developments.