Kunming - 80303 Unit / 3 Division
25°04'N 102°41'E
A probable SSM-related installation at Tienwei, 53 miles north of Kunming, was detected in photographs taken on 21 January 1972. Another missile complex revealed in the 21 January 1972 photography was 11 nautical miles southwest of Kunming. Large-scale DF-3 training was monitored by US imagery intelligence satellites at the Kunming missile training facility in 1996. The Air Force also acquired a videotape of the exercises that involved three launch units practicing to use the DF-3. The missile garrison near Kunming was one of six DF-3 deployment areas operational as of early 1998, with a total of eight missiles deployed.
This facility is headquarters for one of the six Divisions of the Second Artillery Corps. The 80303 Unit, headquartered in the eastern suburbs of Kunming, Yunnan province, has two brigades. One of the brigades, equipped with DF-21s, is located in Chuxiong, approximately 100 kilometers west of Kunming, while the other is located at Jianshui, south of Kunming. These missiles are in range of several targets in India and Southeast Asia.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/kunming.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Wednesday, July 01, 1998 4:22:31 PM
