Interesting what was the purpose of the IRBM for Saudi ? Are the Chinese operators/technicians still there ? Do the missiles get upgraded over time ? what type of warhead fitted ?
Saudi purchased the missiles from china at the height of Iran Iraq war, when both Iran and Iraq acquired large stockpiles of short and medium range ballistic missiles to bombard eachother's cities. So it stands to reason these missiles were originally purchased to give Saudi Arabia potential leverage in the course of the war, deterrence against the war spreading to Saudi Arabia, and insurance against Iran should Iran win the war.
It seems to be generally accepted that not only do these missiles remain operational, but several additional support, storage and launch facilities had been built for them since the 2001 invasion of Iraq. These new launch site seem to be positioned to better strike at Iraq and Israel.
It's been rumored that the original cost of the transaction with china included a 30 years support contract. It is not clear if there are actual Chinese operator/technicians still there, but unless the Chinese reneged on the contract, china will be supporting these missiles in some way until 2017.
It has also been rumored three is agreement between Pakistan and Saudi arabia to mount Pakistani nuclear warheads on these missiles under certain circumstances. But whether that is practicable is not clear.
A few years ago it was said Saudis approached the Chinese to purchase the DF-21 to replace DF-3, but we're rebuffed. The main candidate to replace DF-3 is now the Pakistani hataf 4.
