DF-21D (CSS-5 Mod-4) Anti-ship ballistic missile

Range of various Chinese missiles; DF-21 A/B range in red.

The US Department of Defense has stated that China is developing a conventionally-armed^[9] high hypersonic^[1] land-based anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) based on the DF-21,^[10] with a range of up to 3,000 km (1,900 mi). This would be the world's first and only ASBM and the world's first weapons system capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers.^[11][12] These would combine maneuverable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) with some kind of terminal guidance system. Such a missile may have been tested in 2005-6, and the launch of the Jianbing-5/YaoGan-1 and Jianbing-6/YaoGan-2 satellites would give the Chinese targeting information from SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and visual imaging respectively. The upgrades would greatly enhance China's ability to conduct sea-denial operations to prevent US carriers from intervention in the Taiwan Strait.^[13] A professor at the U.S. Naval War College states that DF-21D highlights the fact that the U.S. can no longer assume naval supremacy as it has since the end of World War II.^[14]