(a) "The test this month marks a significant milestone for Chinese strategic weapons developers and demonstrates that Beijing is moving ahead with building and deploying the DF-41 on difficult-to-locate rail cars 铁路, in addition to previously-known road 道路-mobile launchers, the [American defense] officials said.
(b) " 'The Soviet SS-24 used a rail car launcher, could carry up to 10 warheads and had a range of 10,000 kilometers,' [Rick] Fisher said. 'This is close to the capabilities of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation DF-41 ICBM.'
"China also has decades of experience in perfecting rail cars for transport of easily damaged large missiles and payloads.
" 'Like the versions developed for the Soviets, the Chinese system likely uses a cold-launch tube fitted to a covered rail car,' Fisher said.
"The recent rail ejection test likely is for 'verifying the ability of the tube to eject the heavy DF-41 ICBM,' he added.
"After ejection from the tube, the DF-41 engine ignites microseconds after the missile clears the end of the canister.
"Cold launch tubes are preferred for missile systems because the materials cost less and require less strength than missiles launched “hot” from within a tube.
(c) " 'Given the growing degree of military technical cooperation and military-political coordination between Beijing and Moscow, we have to consider that eventually Russia and China could combine their nuclear weapons in a ‘tilt’ to coerce the United States, lets say in a military crisis over the future of democratic Taiwan,' he [Fisher] said.
Note:
(a) "Chinese rail-based missile development has been carried out in the past at the Wuzhai missile test center 山西五寨导弹基地 [山西省忻州市 五寨县], also known as the Taiyuan satellite launch center 太原卫星发射中心 since 1982, according to declassified CIA documents."
(b) "Military analysts say the mobile basing of missiles is designed to complicate preemptive attacks on nuclear forces, such as those envisioned under the Pentagon’s Prompt Global Strike [ie, hypersonic] program, which will use precision-guided conventional weapons capable of striking targets at any location on earth within minutes of their discovery."