Established on 11 November 1957, BWYIC was created to conduct R&D, production, and testing of systems and sub-systems of ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles (SLVs). Until the mid-1960s, BWYIC focused mainly on ballistic missile development. In the mid-1960s it began development of space launch vehicles (SLVs). BWYIC is in charge of space launcher development, and has designed the Chang Zheng (Long March) family of SLVs. The lack of satellite launch sales in 1985 led to BWYIC's participation in the development of the M-9 ballistic missile for export.

BWYIC is a business "cover" for the China Academy of Launch Technology (CALT), and is associated with the China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC). BWYIC can independently conduct missile and SLV sales. BWYIC was sanctioned in August 1993 as a subsidiary of CASC by the United States for Chinese missile-related sales to Pakistan.

BWYIC produces the CZ-2 SLV and DF-5 ICBM, as well as MRBMs. BWYIC produces 5-6 airframes per year, with 1-2 for SLVs and the remainder for DF-5 testing and deployment. Up to four CZ-2/DF-5 rockets can be in the checkout facility simultaneously. BWYIC designs and assembles M-series missiles. It also produces cryogenic engines, conducts vibration and thermal testing, and assembles servo machinery and gyroscopes. BWYIC designed the DF-5 inertial guidance system. It is also involved in vehicle electronics and propellant tank domes, the development of CZ-2 oxygen/hydrogen engines and liquid strap-on boosters and fairings for the CZ-2 and CZ-4L, as well as conducting research on telemetry, rocket engine control, and rocket propulsion.

Other activities include: production of tape-winding machine for producing heat and erosion-resistant rocket parts; development of Dong Feng missile reentry vehicles (RVs); aerospace industrial complex which develops hardware related to ICBMs and SLVs; manufacturing of CZ-2 (LM-2) SLVs, DF-5 ICBMs, and other MRBMs; producing 5-6 airframes per year: and 1-2p for SLVs and the rest for DF-5 testing and deployment purposes. It reportedly cooperates with China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) for rocket launches.

BWYIC employs 27,000 persons, including 9,000 engineers in over 80 laboratories and 13 research institutes, including system engineering, liquid rocket engines, control systems, inertial devices, warheads, ground equipment, environment and strength, materials and technology, telemetry, engine testing, meteorology center, computer center, and information center. BWYIC has seven pre-production factories, including vehicle integration, control equipment, telemetry equipment, inertial devices, servo mechanisms, connectors, and seal devices.

BEIJING TESTING CENTER:

The Beijing Testing Center is the research and testing base for China's SLVs, liquid engines, and other space launch-related components. In 1995, BWYIC opened parts of the Center to the public.

Under BWYIC are several institutes, including:

• Institute 702: Material strength testing
• Institute 703: Research and development of new materials
• Institute 704: Telemetry devices
• Institute 11: Design and manufacture of engine/motor systems
• Institute 12 (Control System Institute): Design and manufacture of navigation and guidance systems
• Institute 13 (Inertial Component Institute): Development of guidance systems. (attitude control systems)
• Institute 14: Reentry vehicles (RVs)
• Institute 15: Design and manufacture of ground transmission and communication equipment.

Sources:

Michael Mecham, "Long March Successful In Crucial Asiasat-2 Launch," Aviation Week & Space Technology, 4 December 1995, p. 25; Holly Porteous, "China's View Of Strategic Weapons," Jane's Intelligence Review, March 1996, p. 136; Hua Di, in Potter and Jencks, p. 165; Pan Zhaohan, Bu Yuting, and Sun Xuezhong, "China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology," Aerospace China, Winter 1992, pp. 14-16; Yan Kong, "China's Arms Trade Bureaucracy," Jane's Intelligence Review, February 1994, p. 80; Richard W. Fieldhouse, Chinese Nuclear Weapons, pp. 58-59; \ Risk Report, May 1995, p. 6; Air and Cosmos/Aviation International (Paris), 25 October 1996, in FBIS-CST-96-020, 25 October 1996.