The Dong Feng-3 (DF-3, NATO code name: CSS-2) is single-stage, nuclear-armed medium-range ballistic missile introduced in the late 1960s. The missile remained in operational service with the PLA until around 2012. A conventionally-armed version was exported to Saudi Arabia in 1987.
DF-3A lifting off
Development History
While Chinese missile engineers were still working on the reverse-engineering of the Soviet R-2 (SS-2) short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) in 1958, the Chinese Ministry of National Defence (MND)’s Fifth Academy (the Missile Academy) began to develop the concept of their next project – an indigenous medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) with a maximum range of 2,000 – 2,500 km. However, this proposal was rejected for being over ambitious by some in the academy, who called for further improvements on the R-2 design.
Not able to reach a consensus, the leadership of the Fifth Academy proposed to run two projects in parallel: the 2,000 km-range MRBM designated Dong Feng-1 (DF-1), and the 1,200 km-range SRBM designated Dong Feng-2 (DF-2). Following the successful testing of the Chinese-built R-2, the DF-2 programme was given go-ahead by the Chinese military, while the DF-1 remained in the pre-research stage.
The DF-1 MRBM development finally stopped in 1962 due to financial and technical difficulties, but the development of its sub-systems including the 5D10 rocket engine and giro inertial guidance continued. In October 1963, the Fifth Academy proposed a modified MRBM design with the objective of developing a missile that could reach the U.S. military bases in the Philippines. The Chinese military approved the proposal and allocated the missile with a new designation Dong Feng-3 (DF-3).
Development of the DF-3 began in early 1964 at the 1st Academy (now CALT) and took nearly three years to complete. The initial testing of the missile suffered from some major failures due to design flaws. Out of the four test launches conducted between December 1966 and June 1967, three failed due to rocket engine failure. To investigate the cause of these failures, a team led by the academy’s director Ren Xinmin went to the missile impact zones in the desert to search for wreckages of the rocket engine. After fives days of search, they successfully recovered the engine wreckage, which offered important clues to help the design team amend the engine design. The redesigned (Batch-02) DF-3 missile was successfully tested on 18 December 1968.
PLA crew preparing a DF-3 prior to launch
To collect flight parameters during atmospheric re-entry, a telemetry warhead was developed carrying a magnetic tape recorder, which is ejected for a soft-landing shortly before the ground impact. A ground tracking system known as “150 System” was installed at the Jiuquan missile range to provide optical and radar tracking of the missile during the flight.
The DF-3 reached the initial operational capability in 1969, with a small number delivered to the PLA Second Artillery Corps for training. The flight test using a dummy nuclear warhead was carried out successfully in July 1970, though the development and tests of the “524” nuclear warhead was not completed until 1973. The missile was certified for design finalisation in August 1980. It was estimated that 150—200 missiles were in operational deployment.
An early variant DF-3
The DF-3 improvement programme was initiated in 1980, with the objective of resolving the issue of the rocket engine’s poor reliability and simplifying the ground launcher equipment. The resulted DF-3A was first tested in 1984, but the first two tests both failed. Two test launches in 1985—86 using the modified design succeeded. The DF-3A was type certified in August 1988, with 50—100 missiles produced for operational deployment and export. It is believed that all DF-3A had been withdrawn from the PLA service by 2012 and replaced by the more capable DF-21 (CSS-5).
In 1987, China sold 30—120 DF-3A missiles equipped with conventional high-explosive warheads, as well as 9—12 launchers to Saudi Arabia. These systems were reportedly delivered in 1988, though no known test launch has ever been made in the country. It is not known whether these missiles are currently still operational.
A DF-3A in service with the PLA in the 1990s
Design
The most significant improvement on the DF-3 over previous Chinese missile designs was the use of a cluster of four parallel rocket motors to give a take-off thrust of 104 t. Another improvement was the use of storable propellants allowing the missile to be fuelled in advance and remain in a ready-to-launch mode for hours or even days, thus lowering its chance of being detected by enemy surveillance and improving its survivability. The DF-3 was also given a new cascade compensation inertial guidance package, which offered an estimated accuracy of 870 m CEP.
DF-3 in pre-launch fuelling
The missile is 20.65 m length and 2.25 m diameter. It is powered by a YF-2 rocket engine, which consists of four 260 kN-thrust YF-1 chambers motors placed in parallel. The engine burns a liquid-propellant with unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as fuel and red fuming nitric acid (HNO3) as an oxidiser. The basic variant DF-3 has a range of 2,660 km, while the improved DF-3A has a range of 2,810 km.
The DF-3 was the first Chinese ballistic missile to be armed with a thermonuclear warhead. A single warhead with a designed yield of 3MT can be carried by the missile. Alternatively, the missile an be configured conventionally to carry a single high-explosive warhead. The missile is road-mobile on a carriage towed by an 8 x 8 truck, and is launched from a pre-surveyed launch spot located near its base. The missile requires 2 hours for fuelling and preparation before firing.
a DF-3 launch unit of the PLA Second Artillery Corps
