DF - 5 The Dongfeng 5 [ Wǔ ] ( , literally " Eurus 5 " ) or DF - 5 is a 3 stage Chinese ICBM . It has a length of 32 . 6 m and a diameter of 3 . 35 m . It weighs in at 183 , 000 kilograms and it has an estimated range of 12 , 000 to 15 , 000 kilometers . The DF - 5 had its first flight in 1971 and was in operational service 10 years later . One of the downsides of the missile is that it takes between 30 and 60 minutes to fuel . The DF - 5 is due to be replaced by the DF - 41 . History . The DF - 5 was designed under the leadership of Tu Shou ' e [ 屠守锷 ] at the China Academy of Launch Technology ( CALT ) ; Li Xu ' e ) [ 李绪鄂 ] served as deputy chief designer . The missile was produced at the China ' s Factory 211 ( Capital Astronautics Co . [ 首都航天机械公司 ] , also known as the Capital Machine Shop [ 首都机械厂 ] ) . When the DF - 5 was first tested in September 1971 , it had a range of 10 , 000 to 12 , 000 km which allowed it to threaten the western portions of the United States . Beginning in 1983 the Chinese inaugurated the improved DF - 5A , with range increased to over 15 , 000 km and a more accurate guidance system . The DF - 5A upgrade increased the throw - weight of the system from 3 , 000 kg to 3 , 200 kg . Deployment . As with the DF - 4 , initially the DF - 5 was stored in a horizontal position in tunnels under high mountains , and are launched immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel . The missiles must be moved into the open and fueled prior to firing , an operational mode dubbed " chu men fang pao " ( firing a cannon outdoors ) , with the fueling operation apparently requiring about two hours . The initial deployment of a pair of DF - 5s in silos in Central China was completed in 1981 . That portion of the DF - 5A force that is deployed in silos could be maintained in a ready - to - fire status . In order to enhance the survivability of these missiles , China has constructed a large number of decoy silos which consist of shallow holes excavations with headworks that resemble operational silos . According to the National Air Intelligence Center , as of 1998 the deployed DF - 5 force consisted of " fewer than 25 " missile s . From early 1999 to 2008 the total deployed DF - 5 force was generally estimated at about 20 missiles . MIRV Upgrades . The current force of DF - 5 missiles is deployed with a single warhead , but in November 1983 China inaugurated a DF - 5A modification program to arm these ICBMs with MIRV ed warhead s . Technical difficulties , however , had stalled the program . The PLA leadership may have planned to MIRV the DF - 5A system , however there is no evidence that they have been deployed . The Federation of American Scientists asserts that despite having the theoretical ability to develop MIRV payloads , China has not deployed or even flight tested MIRV buses or MRV delivery payloads due to the high cost of development and deployment , and a lack of military necessity . Other analysts , such as John Tkacik of the International Assessment and Strategy Center , assert that China has flight - tested MIRV buses and begun equipping its ICBMs with such vehicles . While the Defense Intelligence Agency and arms control oriented NGOs believe that China ' s nuclear arsenal has not significantly increased from the 200 - 300 warheads it had deployed and in stockpile in the early 1980s , analysis by former Russian Strategic Rocket Forces commander Col . Gen . Viktor Yesin estimates China ' s nuclear arsenal amounts to 1 , 600 to 1 , 800 warheads , and Georgetown University professor and former DOD nuclear strategist Philip Karber estimates the Chinese arsenal to consist of up to 3 , 000 warheads . This would suggest that China treats its strategic nuclear arsenal as a high priority .