The U. S. Department of Defense reported Wednesday on the locations of Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos, a new Newsweek map shows. All intercontinental ballistic missiles are capable of reaching the American continent in the event of a nuclear conflict.
Newsweek has contacted China’s Defense Ministry for comment via email.
The revelation comes from the Pentagon’s most recent report on the power of the Chinese military, which claims that China now has more than 600 operational nuclear warheads, about 100 more than its estimate last year, as well as 400 missiles and 550 launchers for its intercontinental ballistic missile force.
China has stopped engaging in arms negotiations with the United States over U. S. arms sales to Taiwan and Beijing has called on Washington to take on what it calls “the special and number one duty” to drastically and substantially reduce the number of nuclear weapons.
According to the Pentagon, China’s intercontinental ballistic missile force is composed of the DF-5, DF-31, and DF-41 nuclear missile categories. While the DF-5 is a silo-based formula and the DF-41 is a mobile road formula, the DF-31 can be introduced from both silos and vehicles.
The silo-based ICBM launchers are located at three silo fields in desert areas of northern China, with a total of 320 silos, as well as at five sites in central and southeastern China, with a total of 48 silos that are currently used exclusively. for the DF-5.
The report assessed that China “probably began to load across its three new silo fields,” which are located at Hami, Yumen and Yulin. The report said 30 DF-5 silos have also been constructed at sites in Jingxian, Yueyang and Luanchuan since 2017.
Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said the Chinese silo fields appear intended for the DF-31A, one of the DF-31’s variants. China test-launched another variant, the DF-31AG, in September.
Besides its existing ICBMs, China is also developing new ICBMs that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, significantly improving its nuclear missile forces, the Pentagon added. However, the new missiles will require China to increase its nuclear warhead production.
While its ICBMs are now nuclear-armed, China may be exploring the development of conventionally-armed, intercontinental-range missiles, according to the Pentagon, which would enable it to conduct non-nuclear strikes on the contiguous U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.
A senior U. S. defense official said at a briefing on Monday: “As for the [Chinese] intercontinental ballistic missile, the overall trajectory of the force here is to expand more and more survivable intercontinental ballistic missiles. So, more numbers and greater survivability for your nuclear-capable missile. effective. “
Hans Kristensen said in an article published on Wednesday: “The [Chinese] ICBM estimate turns out to have several caveats. The first is that the number of ICBM launchers is not the same as the number of operational ICBMs. when the structure is completed, whether it is operational with a missile or not. “
China is likely to load all the silo fields with missiles as it continued what the Pentagon called a rapid nuclear expansion, seeking to build a larger and more diverse nuclear force. It might also conduct another round of test launches of nuclear missiles in the future.
Ryan Chan is a Newsweek reporter based in Hong Kong, where he previously had over a decade of experience at a local newspaper, covering China and current events around the world. His focus is on security and defense issues in the Western Pacific region. He is a graduate of Hong Kong Baptist University. You can get in touch with Ryan by emailing [email protected].