WASHINGTON, May 15: Commercial satellite imagery has revealed an extensive nuclear missile site in central China with nearly 60 launch-pads for medium-range missiles capable of striking Russia or India, a researcher said on Thursday .

The images from Google Earth show different types of launch-pads, command and control facilities, and missile deployment equipment at a large facility in downtown Delingha, said Hans Kristensen, a researcher with the Federation of American Scientists.

“The US government often highlights China’s deployment of new mobile missiles as a concern but keeps the details secret, so the discovery of the deployment area provides the first opportunity for the public to better understand how China operates its mobile ballistic missiles,” he wrote.

Kristensen said the imagery revealed missile launch-sites along a 275km stretch of highway leading from the city of Delingha through Da Qaidam to Mahai in the northern part of Qinghai province.

Thirty-six launch-pads were arrayed in three strings extending north of the highway and west of Delingha.

Another 22 launch-pads were detected in an area running west of Da Qaidam to Mahai, according to Kristensen’s analysis.

“From these launch-pads DF-21 missiles would be within range of southern Russia and northern India (including New Delhi), but not Japan, Taiwan or Guam,” he wrote.

Kristensen said the imagery shows what appears to be a buried command and control bunker marked by antenas at each of the deployment area.

In downtown Delingha, images show what appear to be the headquarters of a missile brigade base with tent-like structures of identical size and design as structures previously detected on DF-21 launch-pads.

An open area near the base contained what appeared to be camouflaged nets over unidentified vehicles, he said.—AFP