Is China getting faster at integrating new nuclear missiles into its forces?

China’s newest land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-61, has made its way into routine military training much faster than earlier ICBMs, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

That raises the question of whether the People’s Liberation Army is becoming more efficient at integrating new strategic missiles into its nuclear forces.

Shao Yongling, who has worked as a researcher with the PLA Rocket Force, told CCTV on Thursday that the DF-61’s progression from its public debut at a September 2025 military parade in Beijing to routine training was “far faster than the combat capability generation cycle of traditional intercontinental missiles”.