The Nuclear Notebook report also revealed that China is expected to have the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal among the nine nuclear-armed states.
A report has suggested that China is estimated to possess around 600 nuclear warheads, with more in production. The Nuclear Notebook report also highlighted that the Asian giant is believed to have the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal among the nine nuclear-armed states.
China has been significantly increasing its nuclear arsenal despite signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.The report released by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project underlines that reveals that since May 2024, the Asian country has continued to develop its three new missile silo fields for solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and continued the construction of new silos for its liquid-fuel DF-5 ICBMs.New variants of ICBMsThe communist regime has also continued the development of new variants of ICBMs and advanced strategic delivery systems. The report also suggested that Beijing produced excess warheads for these systems once they were deployed.The report also underlined the Pentagon’s projection that China’s arsenal will surpass 1,000 warheads by 2030. In its 2024 report to Congress, the Pentagon revealed that China might field a stockpile of about 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.However, the Nuclear Notebook stressed that how much China’s stockpile can grow depends upon its inventories of plutonium, highly enriched uranium , and tritium.Stockpile of approximately 14 tonnesIn 2023, the International Panel on Fissile Materials assessed that China had a stockpile of approximately 14 tonnes of HEU and approximately 2.9 tonnes of separated plutonium in or available for nuclear weapons.The report also highlighted that China has not produced large quantities of plutonium for its weapons program since the early 1990s.However, Beijing is combining its civilian technology and industrial sector with its defense industrial base to leverage dual-use infrastructure. It is believed that China likely intends to acquire significant stocks of plutonium by using its civilian reactors, including two commercial-sized CFR-600 sodium-cooled fast-breeder reactors that are currently under construction at Xiapu in Fujian province, according to the report.Fielding of the dual-capable DF-26Experts also stressed that the most significant development in China’s medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile force is the production and fielding of the dual-capable DF-26. They revealed that since 2018, the number of reported DF-26 launchers has increased from 18 to 250, with 500 missiles in 2024, according to Pentagon estimates.“We estimate that approximately 250 DF-26 launchers are now fielded in seven brigades, with an eight brigade under construction,” said the report.The DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile is dual-capable and launched from a six-axle road-mobile launcher. With its approximate 4,000-kilometer range, the DF-26 can target important US bases in Guam and Northeast Asia, as well as large parts of Russia and all of India, according to the report.The Nuclear Notebook also noted that China is likely involved in the development of a new stealth bomber that will replace the H-6. The Pentagon believes that the new bomber, which will have nuclear and conventional capability, will be known as H-20. It’s expected to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers, and aerial refueling capability can give it an intercontinental range.
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