- China is set to at least double its nuclear warheads by the end of the decade, according to the Pentagon.
- The growing world superpower had over 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May.
- In 2022, China declined US requests to hold strategic talks about its rapid nuclear weapons buildup.
China is working toward doubling its nuclear warheads to 1,000 by the end of the decade, according to a Pentagon report reviewed by Insider.
China was accelerating its development of capabilities and concepts to “fight and win wars” against a “strong enemy,” a likely euphemism for the United States, said the Pentagon’s “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” report.
In 2020, the Department of Defense estimated China’s operational nuclear warhead stockpile to be in the low 200s, which they expected to at least double by 2030.
In the meantime, Beijing has expedited its nuclear expansion, and the Pentagon projects current figures to at least double within the next seven years.
The Pentagon estimates that China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal as of May 2023.
By 2o30, China could have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads, the Pentagon predicts. Most of these will be fielded on systems that can reach the contiguous United States.
The report also noted that China could explore developing conventionally-armed intercontinental-range missile systems. If designed and fielded, such capabilities would threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.
Despite the accelerated production, China’s stockpiles are still a fraction of the US and Russia’s, which reportedly possess more than 5,000 warheads each, per The Arms Control Association.
The Pentagon report predicts that China is developing advanced nuclear delivery systems, such as a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System and a strategic hypersonic glide vehicle, to match US missile defense capabilities and ramp up its own capabilities on the global stage.
In 2021, China conducted a test of a hypersonic glide vehicle that traveled almost 25,000 miles.
In 2022, China rejected requests by the US to hold diplomatic discussions over China’s rapid nuclear weapons buildup.
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