Published : 2024-05-18
On May 18, 1980, China successfully test launched its first-generation full-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which flew 9,070 kilometers.
As early as March 1965, the Central Special Committee decided to develop an intercontinental missile and named it "Dongfeng 5." This was also the final missile in the "four types of missiles in eight years" （八年四彈）plan led by Qian Xuesen, the "father of Chinese missiles." However, the development work of "Dongfeng 5" was severely damaged and interfered with during the Cultural Revolution, and the project was never finalized.
Furthermore, the rush to progress without following scientific rules caused the first three flight tests of "Dongfeng 5" to fail, with the third one leading to self-destruction due to loss of control.
After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the development progress of "Dongfeng 5" significantly accelerated.
On May 9, 1980, the official media Xinhua News Agency announced that China would conduct launch vehicle testing towards the Pacific from its homeland between May 12 and June 10 of the same year. The test was coded as "580".
At precisely 10 a.m. on May 18, the "Dongfeng 5" was launched from the Jiuquan launch site. A few seconds later, it fell into the Pacific's designated range on the high seas, with a radius of 130 kilometers, raising a giant water column several tens of meters high. Approximately half an hour later, a green strip appeared at that place, which is a mark emitted by the data recovery cabin dye.
The success of the "Dongfeng 5" flight test signifies that China owns its first-generation intercontinental missile and becomes the third country in the world to successfully conduct a full-range flight test of an intercontinental missile following the United States and the former Soviet Union.
