What did the declassified documents reveal?

China’s short‑range ballistic missile programs, M‑9 and M‑11 – CIA Intelligence Research Paper, March first, nineteen ninety‑four. This assessment is notable because it provides the United States intelligence community’s most detailed open‑source appraisal of the developmental status, advertised performance, and export potential of two Chinese short‑range missile systems during the early 1990s. The document was released to the public through The Black Vault, an online archive that publishes declassified United States government records under the Freedom of Information Act. The material was declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence and made available for public download on the archive’s website. The source URL is https://archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI02320/CI02320djvu.txt. The paper begins with an introductory overview. It states that since the late nineteen eighties, the People’s Republic of China has been developing a series of mobile short‑range missile systems designed primarily for export. These systems are single‑stage, solid‑propellant missiles launched from transporter‑erector‑launchers, or TELs. Two of the missiles, designated M‑9 and M‑11, have been displayed at international arms exhibitions and offered for sale. Key findings are organized under headings for each missile. For the M‑9 SRBM, the assessment describes the missile as a single‑stage, solid‑propellant, inertially guided weapon with an advertised maximum range of six hundred kilometers. The missile is launched from a wheeled, self‑propelled TEL, measures nine point two meters in length and approximately one meter in diameter, and consists of a booster and a payload. Marketing literature claims an accuracy of one‑tenth percent of range – that is, within four hundred twenty meters at a range of four hundred twenty kilometers. Support equipment is said to include one to four TELs, a resupply vehicle, and an unspecified number of test vehicles. The document notes that a full‑size mockup of the M‑9 and a scale model of its TEL were first displayed in Beijing in nineteen eighty‑six. The section on the M‑11 SRBM notes that this missile is very similar in size and appearance to the M‑9. It is also a single‑stage, solid‑propellant, inertially guided system, with an advertised maximum range of two hundred ninety kilometers. Its dimensions are nine point three meters in length and eight point eight centimeters in diameter, also comprising a booster and a payload. The Chinese later revealed the missile’s designator as M‑11 at the FIDA exhibition in Santiago, Chile, in nineteen eighty‑eight. Marketing claims state the same accuracy figure as the M‑9 – one‑tenth percent of range, or within two hundred ninety meters at the maximum range of two hundred ninety kilometers. The paper again references support equipment consisting of TELs and associated logistics vehicles. The assessment concludes that China has aggressively pursued sales of these…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

China’s Short‑range Ballistic Missile Programs, M‑9 And M‑11 – CIA Intelligence

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China’s short‑range ballistic missile programs, M‑9 and M‑11 – CIA Intelligence Research Paper, March first, nineteen ninety‑four. This assessment is notable because it provides the United States intelligence community’s most detailed open‑source appraisal of the developmental status, advertised performance, and export potential of two Chinese short‑range missile systems during the early 1990s.

Date: AUG 1 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was China’s Short‑range Ballistic Missile Programs, M‑9 And M‑11 – CIA Intelligence about?: China’s short‑range ballistic missile programs, M‑9 and M‑11 – CIA Intelligence Research Paper, March first, nineteen ninety‑four. This assessment is notable because it provides the United States intelligence community’s most detailed open‑source appraisal of the developmental status, advertised performance, and export potential of two Chinese short‑range missile systems during the early 1990s.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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