Missile Dongfeng DF-3 (CH-SS-2)
Summary
| NATO Designation | CH-SS-2 |
| Category | Ballistic Missiles |
| Sub-type | Intermediate-range ballistic missile |
| Origin country | 🇨🇳 China |
| Manufacturer | Chinese State Industry |
| Status | In service |
| Year of service | 1971 |
| Number built | 110 units |
Technical specifications
| Warhead | Nuclear |
| Warhead weight | 2150 kg (4,740 lb) |
| Diameter | 2,250 mm (88.6 in) |
| Length | 24,000 mm (944.9 in) |
| Weight | 64,000 kg (141,096 lb) |
| Range | 5,000 km (3,107 mi) |
| Max. speed | 20,000 km/h (Mach 20.0) |
Dongfeng DF-3 scale diagram
Operators
Description
The DF-3A, designated by NATO as the CSS-2, is a single-stage, liquid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile. It entered service with the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force in 1971. The system was succeeded in the Chinese inventory by the DF-4.
The missile is powered by four YF-1 liquid-fueled rocket engines and utilizes an astro-inertial guidance system. This configuration provides a circular error probable of 0.6 to 2.4 miles. As a nuclear-capable system, warhead options include a single 700 to 3,000 kt warhead or a payload of three warheads with individual yields between 50 and 100 kt.
China operated the missile as a primary component of its rocket forces for several decades. Inventory levels reached a peak in the mid-1980s before a gradual reduction through the 1990s and 2000s. By May 2014, satellite imagery indicated that the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force had phased out the system, with the final operational units converting to the DF-21.
Saudi Arabia is the only export operator of the system, having acquired the missiles in 1988 for the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force. The system remained out of public view until a formal display in 2014. It remains in active service with Saudi Arabian forces.