China has released footage demonstrating its DF-10 land-attack cruise missile during a live-fire test targeting a reinforced concrete structure. The video, which has garnered significant international attention, underscores the persistent challenge advanced precision-guided missiles face when confronting deeply fortified positions—a matter of grave concern for states like Israel, which regularly counter threats from Iranian-backed terror groups entrenched in reinforced tunnels and bunkers.
The DF-10, also known as Changjian-10, represents a new generation of cruise missiles within China’s arsenal. With an estimated reach of up to 1,500 kilometers and advanced guidance technologies, the DF-10 has been showcased by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as a cornerstone of its long-range precision strike capabilities. During the demonstrated test, a succession of missiles was fired at a concrete bunker, with Chinese sources declaring that at least three such missiles are necessary to reliably neutralize, though not entirely destroy, an equivalent structure. Notably, post-strike analysis and video evidence revealed that while the above-ground portions of the bunker suffered significant damage, the subterranean levels remained largely undisturbed.
This testing highlights a crucial reality for defense planners in the Middle East: even with the increased proliferation of precision-guided munitions, military technology faces physical limits against fortified infrastructure. For Israel, this is more than a technical detail—it is a continuous operational challenge. Iranian-backed entities such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have invested heavily in hardened subterranean command centers, weapons caches, and launch sites. The October 7, 2023, massacre perpetrated by Hamas terrorists—considered the deadliest antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust—was launched, in part, from a vast network of tunnels immune to conventional aerial bombardment.
Israel’s response to these challenges has been multi-faceted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) integrate advanced U.S.-made bunker-busting munitions with indigenous technologies like the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow defense systems to neutralize both surface and sub-surface threats. Israeli military doctrine also emphasizes intelligence gathering, cyber warfare, and non-kinetic methods to supplement conventional strikes, particularly when hostile combatants embed themselves among Gaza residents or use human shields, further complicating potential military responses.
The DF-10’s partial effectiveness against hardened targets mirrors the limitations Israeli and allied forces confront. Even multiple precision-guided cruise missiles may be insufficient to fully defeat the deepest levels of enemy fortifications—an insight not lost on either Iranian planners or their proxies. This technological ‘arms race’ between offensive strike capabilities and the design of fortified defenses continues to drive innovation on both sides.
The potential proliferation of cruise missile technology poses a further danger. China’s growing role as a weapons exporter and its technical exchanges with various states increase the risk of advanced munitions reaching hostile actors in the Middle East. Iranian-supported factions have repeatedly sought to reverse-engineer or smuggle components for similar weapons, threatening not just Israeli military positions but its densely populated civilian centers as well. The United States and Israel have intensified their cooperation to disrupt such transfers, including diplomatic efforts, sanctions, and intelligence operations across the region.
While China has not directly provided cruise missiles to such entities, the demonstration of advanced systems like the DF-10 sends a clear signal. It underscores the relentless pace of military modernization and proliferation, a dynamic that imposes ever-higher requirements for innovation in Israel’s defense sector and underscores the necessity of strategic alliances with Western partners.
At the operational level, Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza and readiness postures against Hezbollah in Lebanon remain shaped by the lessons of recent conflicts. The Iron Swords War, triggered by the latest round of Hamas aggression, has seen renewed efforts to map and destroy subterranean terror infrastructure. Despite hundreds of targeted strikes, IDF officials acknowledge the difficulty in completely eradicating deep-buried assets, a reality echoed by Chinese admissions regarding their own missile test results.
Israel continues to prioritize civilian safety and compliance with international law in its operations—a stark contrast to its adversaries’ deliberate targeting of innocents and use of ‘human shield’ tactics. The distinction is clear: Israel, as a sovereign democracy, employs force purely in lawful self-defense, while Iranian proxies institutionalize the deliberate targeting of Israeli men, women, and children through indiscriminate rocket fire and orchestrated massacres.
As regional actors upgrade their arsenals, and as outside powers like China display the capacities and limitations of their latest technologies, Israel’s defensive doctrine continues to evolve. The commitment to technical innovation is matched by an unwavering determination to protect all Israeli citizens from present and emerging threats, never losing sight of the legal, ethical, and historical imperatives at stake.
In the wake of China’s test, defense circles worldwide are focused on the ongoing competition between increasingly sophisticated strike systems and the next generation of defensive and intelligence solutions. For Israel and its allies, the imperative remains clear: adapt rapidly, invest wisely in multi-layered security, and sustain broad-based cooperation to meet a threat environment in which fortified terror infrastructure and advanced missile proliferation are the new normal.
