Never-before-seen footage reveals the top secret command centre and mighty arsenal of China's missile army
A propaganda video released by China's People Liberation Army (PLA) has given the public a sneak peek into the classified command centre of the country's missile troop.
A group of soldiers are seen discussing strategies, making phone calls and typing on computer keyboards at the top-secret military office.
The never-before-seen scenes were publicised by PLA's mighty Rocket Force one day after the PLA posted a dramatic video to warn protesters in Hong Kong.
The two-minute clip was posted by the Rocket Force onto its official account on China's Twitter-like Weibo in a show of military might.
It was produced to celebrate the 92th anniversary of the founding of the PLA on August 1.
The footage also shows soldiers launching various Dongfeng missiles during military exercises. China claims to own around 2,500 ballistic missiles.
Multiple warheads are seen soaring into the skies and blowing up targets in deserts.
One day earlier, the PLA's Hong Kong garrison published a separate propaganda video to warn pro-democracy protesters after a series of demonstrations left the financial hub in turmoil.
The Hong Kong military video shows heavily armed soldiers carrying out a series of live-fire anti-riot drills featuring tanks, huge cannons, attack helicopters and missiles.
China's PLA has two series of missiles, the Dongfeng or 'East Wind' guided missiles and the Julang or 'Giant Wave' nuclear submarine missiles.
According to Global People magazine, the Dongfeng missiles are the first series of missiles completely built by the Chinese people and is the country's main weapon for national defence.
One of the missiles is Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is said to have the longest range of any ballistic rockets in the world, and could reach London or the United States with nuclear warheads.
Other impressive Dongfeng missiles include short-range guided missile DF-2, intercontinental ballistic missile DF-5B and long-range guided missile DF-26.
DF-26 is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and striking 'important targets on land and medium-to-large ships at sea with precision', according to previous reports.
The weapon is billed as the 'Guam Killer' by Chinese media as it is said to be capable of reaching Guam, a U.S. territory about 2,000 miles away from the Chinese coast. It's been hailed as Beijing's top weapon against Washington.
The Rocket Force was founded on January 1, 2016. It was renamed from the former Second Artillery Corps in the two-million-strong PLA.
Commanders at the troop have claimed that their soldiers are 'ready to strike any targets at any time' under Beijing's order.
Li Zhenglian, a brigade commander of the Rocket Force, told China Central Television Station in a previous interview: 'As long as there is an order, I am ready to bring out [soldiers] at any time, I can fire [missiles] at any time and I can strike [targets] accurately.'
At its inauguration ceremony, the Chinese President Xi Jinping said the move to form the Rocket Force was a major decision made to 'realise the Chinese dream of a strong military'.
The decision was also a 'strategic step to establish a modern military system with Chinese characteristics', said President Xi.
Last month, a released by China's state-own aerospace manufacturer may have revealed details of the force's top weapon.
Chinese media believe that the four-minute clip showcases the mysterious Dongfeng-17, a ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).
The weapon is said to be capable of achieving speeds of up to 7,680 miles per hour (12,360 kph) - or 10 times the speed of sound - while carrying a nuclear warhead.
