China Says Its DF-27 Hypersonic Missile Can Travel 8,000km

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) China’s long-range DF-27 hypersonic missile may be as mysterious as it is lethal, given how little is known or confirmed about its performance parameters. The Pentagon documented and reported existence of the Chinese missile has been documented and reported by the Pentagon, according to its 2021 annual China military report.

Several years ago, the Pentagon was clear that the missile was “in development,” yet very little information is known about the potential extent to which the DF-27 is, in fact, a “hypersonic weapon.”

“Sources indicate a “long-range” DF-27 ballistic missile is in development. Official PRC military writings indicate this range-class spans 5,000-8,000km, which means the DF-27 could be a new IRBM or ICBM,” the report says.

A report from May 2023 in the South China Morning Post says the weapon is hypersonic and has been in existence for several years.

Regardless, what is clear about the emerging Chinese weapon, as specified by the Pentagon report, is that Chinese writings explain the missile can travel as far as 8,000km, a distance which can not only put Taiwan at risk but also threaten other key U.S. and allied areas throughout the Pacific.

This range of 8,000km, which can generally be thought of as just under 5,000 miles, places South Korea, Japan, and Guam at risk of long-range ballistic missile attack. Guam, for example, is reported to be roughly 4,751km from mainland China and Japan is a similar distance of 4,518km. These distances place both Japan and Guam well within direct reach of China’s DF-27, a weapon that could fire from pretty much anywhere within mainland China, given the PRC’s well-known use of mobile launchers.

According to these specs, the DF-27 has a range comparable to many Russian, Chinese, and U.S. ICBMs, a possible reason why early Pentagon assessments suggest the weapon may indeed be an ICBM.