Researchers in China have developed a fully modular, intelligent electric-drive heavy-duty vehicle that could be adapted for use as a mobile launcher for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to project scientists.

The team said the vehicle is capable of “crab walking” — moving diagonally or sideways — allowing it to manoeuvre through narrow, cluttered or damaged terrain that would prevent conventional missile launch platforms from operating.

They added that the vehicle’s near-silent electric propulsion significantly enhances its stealth, reducing acoustic and thermal signatures and making it harder to detect during deployment.

A prototype of the vehicle was unveiled in Beijing on December21, less than two years after the project was approved in January 2024 as a major initiative under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, highlighting the rapid pace of development under the state-backed research programme.

The researchers described the platform as fully modular, meaning it can be reconfigured for multiple roles, including logistics, emergency response and potentially strategic military applications, depending on payload and mission requirements.

They did not disclose whether the vehicle has been formally adopted by the military or when it might enter operational service.