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Did the Iran war just prove that China’s ageing DF-15Bs are still big guns?

Lessons from the Iran war suggest that China’s ageing Dongfeng-15B short-range missiles may be more useful in penetrating modern missile defences than previously thought, according…

By Samantha Johnson / June 25, 2026
Lessons from the Iran war suggest that China’s ageing Dongfeng-15B short-range missiles may be more useful in penetrating modern missile defences than previously thought, according to military analysts.

The suggestion surfaced this month in an article published by Ordnance Science and Technology which said that missiles with biconic manoeuvring re-entry vehicles (MRVs) could achieve a penetration effect close to that of hypersonic projectiles.

The article, written under the byline Ma Lihua, referred to Iranian claims that its short-range missiles, equipped with biconic MRVs, repeatedly penetrated US missile defence networks around bases in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.

No details were given about the author, who has contributed multiple times to the magazine. The journal is supervised by the Shaanxi Provincial Association for Science and Technology and is popular among military enthusiasts.

As well as offering analyses of military developments in other countries and regions, it reports on popular science content and the latest Chinese military developments and defence dynamics.

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According to the article, Iran’s MRVs – which include the Thunder-500 and the Fattah-1 – have shown since the first US-Israeli strikes in February that they can challenge US-made Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) systems.

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