Originally posted by Oracle
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The unique thing about the DF-21D is that it uses a ballistic flight profile. This means the incoming warhead approaches from above at about 3x the speed of the Brahmos and carries enough energy to cause a mission kill on a carrier with a single hit while skirting most cruise missile defenses. It appears the DF-21D's RV is essentially a copy of the one used on the now retired Pershing II missile. The Pershing II RV used a reaction control system in space, and control vanes in the atmosphere to pull a 25G pitching maneuver to slow reentry speeds enough to enable the use of radar for terminal guidance. This is all assuming the DF-21D can actually discriminate and hit a moving target, which has yet to be demonstrated.
Chinese ABM capability is somewhat of a mystery, but considering how hard ABM is in general, I doubt Brahmos would have as much trouble against the Liaoning and it's successors as they would against a US carrier group that's had a lot more practice dealing with things like the 3M-54 Klub.
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