Xianren People's Rocket Force¶
The Xianren People's Rocket Force (XPRF) — Renmin Huojianjun — is the Federation's dedicated missile service and the world's largest single-national ground-based missile force by launcher count. At approximately 170,000 active personnel plus ~50,000 trained reserves, the XPRF operates the Federation's conventional and nuclear strategic-missile arsenal, the Federation's tactical short-range and medium-range ballistic-missile force, and the Federation's coastal anti-ship missile force facing Hinomura.
The XPRF was elevated to co-equal-service status in the 2015 Federal Armed Forces reorganisation — before 2015 the Federation operated its missile force as the Second Artillery Corps under Ground Forces control. The change reflected the Federation's assessment that missile forces had become the strategic anchor of Federation deterrence-and-strike capability and warranted service-independent standing.
Organisation¶
The XPRF is organised as six missile bases distributed across the Federation's theatre command structure. Each missile base is commanded by a two-star officer and comprises multiple missile brigades operating specific missile systems.
Missile bases¶
| Base | Home theatre | Principal focus |
|---|---|---|
| Base 61 | Interior Theatre | Strategic-nuclear ICBM force (DF-31, DF-41) |
| Base 62 | Northern Theatre | Regional-strike medium-range ballistic missiles (DF-26, DF-21) |
| Base 63 | Interior Theatre | Strategic-nuclear ICBM force (DF-31, DF-41); Federation's principal silo-based force |
| Base 64 | Eastern Coastal Theatre | Anti-ship ballistic missiles (DF-21D, DF-26) + short-range conventional ballistic missiles (DF-15, DF-16) |
| Base 65 | Southern Coastal Theatre | Short-range and medium-range conventional force; southern-approach coverage |
| Base 66 | Interior Theatre | Strategic-nuclear silo force + hypersonic strategic strike (DF-17, DF-27 development) |
Independent brigades under XPRF HQ¶
- Coastal ASM Brigade Group — Federation's principal coastal anti-ship missile force. Approximately 32 launcher-battalions distributed across the Eastern Coastal Theatre. Signature Hinomura-counter capability.
- Strategic Missile Defence Brigade — Federation strategic missile-defence force (operating alongside XPADF HQ-19 and next-generation systems)
- Missile Force Training Command — Federation's principal missile-force training and doctrinal-development organisation
Missile systems¶
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (nuclear)¶
| System | Range | Payload | Basing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF-41 | 12,000–15,000 km | MIRV, 10 warheads | Silo + road-mobile | Federation's most-capable strategic nuclear missile |
| DF-31AG | 11,000+ km | Single warhead / limited MIRV | Road-mobile TEL | Federation's principal survivable ICBM |
| DF-5B/C | 12,000+ km | MIRV | Silo | Federation's legacy heavy ICBM; being modernised |
Medium-range ballistic missiles (nuclear + conventional)¶
| System | Range | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DF-26 | 4,000+ km | Dual conventional / nuclear; anti-ship capable | The Federation's principal regional-strike system; carrier-killer variant |
| DF-21D | 1,500+ km | Conventional; specifically anti-ship | Signature anti-carrier system |
| DF-21C | 1,700+ km | Conventional; ground strike | Regional ground strike |
Short-range ballistic missiles (conventional)¶
| System | Range | Role |
|---|---|---|
| DF-16 | 800–1,000 km | Precision conventional short-range strike |
| DF-15B | 600 km | Legacy precision conventional short-range |
| DF-11A | 300–350 km | Legacy short-range |
Hypersonic and boost-glide¶
| System | Range | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DF-17 | 1,800–2,500 km | Hypersonic glide vehicle | In service since 2019. Federation's principal declared hypersonic system. Conventional-warhead configuration |
| DF-27 (development) | Under 8,000 km | Strategic-range hypersonic glide vehicle | In advanced development. Expected 2029–2030 entry into service |
Cruise missiles (ground-launched)¶
- CJ-100 — long-range ground-launched cruise missile; ~2,000 km range
- CJ-10 — Federation's legacy ground-launched cruise missile; being phased out
Coastal anti-ship missiles¶
- YJ-12B — supersonic anti-ship cruise missile; coastal-launcher variant; 400+ km range
- YJ-62 — subsonic long-range anti-ship cruise missile; 300+ km range
- YJ-18B — supersonic-terminal anti-ship cruise missile; the signature Federation ASCM
- CM-401 — coastal-launcher anti-ship ballistic missile; 15+ Mach terminal velocity
The A2/AD anchor¶
The XPRF is the anchor of the Federation's anti-access / area denial doctrine as applied to the Sea of Xianren. The XPRF contribution:
- Coastal ASMs deny near-coast surface-ship access to external navies (Federation ASMs cover roughly the first 300–500 km from Federation shoreline)
- DF-21D / DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles deny access to the Central Xianren Basin at ranges out to approximately 1,500–4,000 km from Federation shoreline (from the Interior Theatre; the Eastern Coastal Theatre coverage overlap is what makes Federation A2/AD credible against carrier operations well past the near-coast belt)
- DF-17 hypersonic provides a specifically-difficult-to-intercept regional strike capability
- DF-26 conventional-strike provides regional ground-strike capability at ranges that reach the Hinomuran home archipelago from Federation Interior Theatre basing
Strategic-nuclear doctrine¶
The Federation's strategic-nuclear doctrine is no-first-use — see Armed Forces. Federation strategic-nuclear-force posture is oriented toward:
- Survivable second strike — road-mobile ICBMs (DF-31AG, DF-41 road-mobile variants) plus SSBN force (Type-094 / Type-096) plus silo-based force provide a triad-based second-strike capability
- Limited warhead inventory — Federation operational-warhead count is publicly-undeclared but externally-estimated at approximately 500–600 warheads. Federation policy does not pursue warhead-count parity with the FSA or the Volnian Empire; the Federation position is that a smaller, survivable, second-strike force is sufficient
- Assured retaliation — Federation doctrine holds that credible assured-retaliation capability is the necessary and sufficient condition for strategic-nuclear deterrence, and that the Federation does not need first-strike capability or damage-limitation capability to meet the deterrence requirement
The undeclared coastal ASM force facing Hinomura¶
Federation official material does not publicly-declare the size or disposition of the coastal ASM force facing Hinomura. It is well-known in the international defence community that a substantial force exists, that it is operated by the XPRF Coastal ASM Brigade Group, and that its principal system is the YJ-12B / YJ-18B / CM-401 family. Public declaration would be diplomatically-provocative and is treated by the Federation as unnecessary; the Federation position is that its coastal defensive force is a matter of domestic defence policy and does not require external notification.
Hinomuran official material has, on occasion, referenced Federation coastal-ASM emplacements in general terms. Federation response has been that Hinomura is not entitled to make such references and that the Federation reserves its position on Hinomuran claims.
Doctrine¶
Force-employment tiers¶
XPRF doctrine distinguishes three force-employment tiers:
- Tier 1 — coastal ASM force — routine peacetime posture; ready-alert; provides the standing Sea-of-Xianren coastal-defence envelope
- Tier 2 — conventional strategic-strike force — DF-21D / DF-26 conventional variants + DF-17 hypersonic; released on CMC authority for regional conventional conflict
- Tier 3 — strategic-nuclear force — released only on General Secretary personal authority through the CMC nuclear-release protocol
The command-and-control system¶
XPRF command-and-control is treated as one of the Federation's most-sensitive operational infrastructures:
- The Central Rocket Force Command Post at Base 63 is the XPRF's principal peacetime command-and-control node
- The Airborne Command Post — operated by the Air Defense Forces National Command Air Wing on behalf of the CMC — provides continuity of strategic-nuclear command in a wartime environment
- The Underground Command Post — Federation's principal survivable-strategic-command facility. Location publicly-undeclared. Provides the Federation strategic-nuclear-command's survivable second-strike authority
- The Naval SSBN Command operates its own dedicated command-and-control link that is functionally-separate from XPRF nuclear command-and-control
The dual-key nuclear release protocol¶
Federation strategic-nuclear-release protocol requires dual-key authorisation by the General Secretary and by the CMC First Vice-Chair. Neither can release nuclear weapons individually; both must concur. The dual-key protocol was formalised in 1990 and has not been modified since.