State broadcaster CCTV shows the first footage of the weapons being fired at a training camp somewhere in the Gobi Desert
2-MIN READ2-MINWilliam ZhengPublished: 7:00pm, 21 Jun 2026China’s state broadcaster CCTV has aired footage showing the launch of a DF-17 hypersonic missile, a weapon that analysts believe could strengthen deterrence across the first island chain.On Saturday, a military news programme carried footage of two live-fire exercises, one of which showed a Dongfeng-17, or “east wind”, missile launcher by the side of a road, followed by a vertical launch.
The other segment showed training exercises involving multiple branches of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at a rocket force training area somewhere in the Gobi Desert.
The DF-17 made its first public appearance during a major military parade in Beijing in October 2019, but this is the first time footage of a launch has been aired in public.
The footage was broadcast ahead of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Second Artillery Force, the forerunner of today’s PLA Rocket Force, on July 1.
