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666 Brigade - DF-26
Xinyang City, Henan Province
32.168633, 114.125817

In southern Henan Province, Xinyang City neighbors Anhui in the east and Hubei in the south. It is seated between the north foot of Dabie Mountains (in the southern) and the upper reaches of the Huaihe River (in the northern). Xinyang is the south gate of Henan Province. Beijing-Guangzhou Railway runs across from north to south. No.107 and 312 national highways intersects through the city and allows visitors to reach Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Nanyang and several other cities. Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan is only three hours' drive away while Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, is about four hours away. Xinyang Bus Station is situated on Renmin Lu, adjacent to the railway station. It is the main bus station provides local buses and bus lines to other towns and cities. About 45 kilometers (28 miles) to downtown Xinyang, Xinyang Minggang Airport has opened flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, etc.

The city is one of the origins of Chinese civilization with more than 8,000 years of history. During the Xia (21st - 16th century BC) and Shang (16th - 11th century BC) dynasties, it consisted of many vassal states. It had become a vital grain base for the country during the middle period of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and later developed into a wealthy city in Central China. The terrain of the city declines from its south to the north. Its west and south regions are mountainous formed by Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountains. Hills predominate the center of the city, while the northern region of the city is consists of plains and depressions.

In early 2018 the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force established a new brigade and armed it with one of the nation's most powerful ballistic missiles. Vinayak Bhat countered that "This claim, however, appears to be factually inaccurate given that the existence of an operational brigade of DF-26 was first reported at least four years ago."

A commissioning ceremony was held by the PLA Rocket Force at the new brigade's base at an unidentified location to mark the delivery of "a new type of missile", the Rocket Force said in a statement on 18 April 2018. The move indicated that the brigade has finished the establishment and trial run phases and has begun to gain full combat capability, it said.

The weapon given to the brigade is a domestically developed, new-generation intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of delivering conventional and nuclear warheads. It can carry out rapid nuclear retaliation as well as precision strikes against ground targets or large ships within an intermediate range, according to the statement. It called the missile a new pillar in the Chinese military's strategic deterrence and strike arsenal and a major "trump card", adding that the missile's deployment was "a milestone in the Rocket Force's history" because it has given the force a "new strategic tool".

The Rocket Force also said it has been sparing no effort to foster the capability to conduct nuclear retaliation and intermediate-and long-range precision strikes and has obtained a succession of breakthroughs in new weapons' research and development. Its units received several new types of missiles with various ranges and functions over the past several years, it noted.

The statement did not give the type of missile delivered, but a video clip provided by the Rocket Force and the description of the weapon in the statement indicate it is the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile. The mobile DF-26 was first shown to the public at the V-Day parade in Beijing in September 2015. It also was used in a parade last July in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region that celebrated the PLA's 90th birthday. The missile and the DF-21D, also a new weapon deployed by the Rocket Force, are believed to be the only two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the world.

A strategy researcher close to the PLA who wished not to be named said the statement was probably the first time the Rocket Force or its predecessor - the PLA Second Artillery Corps - had publicized a new missile's delivery. "Considering that the DF-26 is tasked with hitting key targets on land and at sea, it is very interesting that the Rocket Force published this news at this point," he said, also mentioning that the weapon is widely dubbed the "Guam Killer" in the West.