ANALYSIS — While the 2020 unclassified report on Chinese military power by the Department of Defense estimates the communist regime’s arsenal of nuclear warheads is in the “low 200s,” a new think tank study puts that number at about 350. These weapons include hypersonic missiles, silo-based and road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles.
And while that figure does include newer weapons “still in development,” it does not count, notes Defense News, “suspected air-launched ballistic/hypersonic missile, nor does it include the multiple, independent warheads that will be fitted on the DF-5C ICBM.”
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists report, written by the director at the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), and an associate, said an estimated 272 of the 350 warheads in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are operational. Defense News notes that this “includes 204 land-based missile warheads, 48 submarine-launched warheads and 20 aircraft-delivered gravity bombs.”
Despite these new estimates, the report’s authors wrote that claims by the Trump administration’s special envoy for arms control that China is striving for a form of “nuclear parity” with the U.S. and Russia “appears to have little basis in reality.” But this is to be expected from the left-leaning group.
What they fail to adequately assess is that China is aggressively expanding its nuclear forces and capabilities, with an announced goal of doubling their arsenal by 2030. Other sources believe they will do far more than that.
Austin Long writes in War on the Rocks that:
… China’s nuclear posture and force structure has changed dramatically. Its arsenal has grown and diversified even as readiness and command and control have improved. By 2030, the country’s force structure and posture will be similar to America’s and Russia’s in many ways (albeit probably not at parity).
Unlike the U.S. and Russia, which maintain a Triad of nuclear forces (land, sea, and air-launched), China’s nuclear forces are currently limited to its land-based rocket forces and submarine-launched nuclear missiles. However, as the Pentagon’s report notes, China may fill that gap by developing a nuclear air-launched ballistic missile.
But that is not all. The PLA is dramatically growing its air-launch nuclear capability beyond an air-launched ballistic missile to include a new strategic stealth bomber akin to (if not a rip-off of) the U.S. B-2 bomber — the H-20 — and most recently a possible hypersonic boost-glide missile mock-up was seen on its current H-6 bomber.
Very soon we can expect China to have its own nuclear Triad at least comparable in ability, if not size, to the United States. From there, based on their current steady race to parity, China can be expected to steadily increase its size to reach nuclear parity with the U.S. by 2049, if not sooner.
Keeping pace with China’s nuclear expansion to maintain the U.S. nuclear edge over the next two decades, requires investment now. President Trump is right to increase and modernize America’s aging and neglected nuclear forces.
Joe Biden should continue and build on what Trump started, not allow U.S. nuclear forces to degrade while pursuing hollow arms control deals with dangerously naive, utopian goals to eliminate nuclear weapons.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com.
Joe Biden is a useless senile criminal and will never be my president!
Over 75 Million People feel the same way . One would think , The Supreme Court would have the Courage and the Wisdom to address Fraud in American Elections. Almost everyone knows the Presidential was the Most Fraudulent Election in History.
The sad thing is our votes were nullified by the illegal votes cast. Trump won, but the election was stolen by the Democrats and Social Media and the rest of the crooked bastards! There should be a run off held in six contested states, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. But there won’t be because our worthless Judges were bought out and refused to even look at the mountain of evidence. The Senate will eventually confirm Biden after mouthing about fixing the problem. There has been stealing every year and it will continue because of YELLOW BELLIED politicians who have been bought or are scared to stand up for America and true Justice.
Can our election voting system be made more secure? Yes. We could demand that every one be re-registered. Include name, address and their thumb print which this is stored in the national Voter data base. When you vote either by mail or in person your ballot should contain a square place for you to place your thumb print on. When entered into the counting machine it is sent ton the data base. If it does not match it is rejected and a security guard takes you into his office to find out why. If it is bogus you get arrested and will face serious charges of cheating. Those who do match are counted and pass on through and are recorded and saved for future use if needed. But will the lazy Congress/Senate pass a Bill requiring the states to do this? Doubtful.
We must assume that the communist Chinese are almost as dishonest as the communist democrats.
WITH TRUMP GONE WE ARE IN TROUBLE……TRUMP 2020-2024
And China Joe will make sure they get more and that our Military strength goes in the shitter at the same time.
What ? We have to rewrite American History and adopt the ” Black National Anthem ” like they opened the Michigan Electoral College with . To be concerned with American National Security
China does have underground sub bases & other alone to hide nuclear weapons
Does it really matter how many nukes one has, once one nuke is fired everyone will fire their nukes and there will be ho more like on this planet an possibly no more planet.
Creepy sleepy senile Joe is China’s bought and paid for HO…
Good information on Chinese nuclear capabilities. Accurate information until the last sentence about Biden continuing building on Trump’s plan. Just like all propoganda it starts with a little truth and then slips in projections to get people to fall in line with “The Communist Takover Plan”. The People are not asleep and watchin and listening to every word.
Chinese aren’t black, but white democrat politicians are still just as afraid of them!!! lol lol
China is our biggest outside threat. The News media and Big Tech are our biggest inside threats.
“China May Have Far More Nukes Than Pentagon Report States – and Arsenal Is Growing”
Gee really, I would never have believed it, if it hadn’t been pointed out to me.