Washington - The Pentagon, in its most recent report to the US Congress concerning China, disclosed that China's nuclear arsenal exceeds 500 warheads, alongside its ongoing development of advanced Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), significantly bolstering its nuclear-capable missile capabilities.

Over the next decade, the Pentagon predicts that China will continue its rapid efforts to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear capabilities.

According to the Pentagon report, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is actively working on new ICBMs that will substantially enhance its nuclear missile forces, prompting the need for increased nuclear warhead production, largely due to the integration of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technologies.

The report also hints at China exploring the development of intercontinental-range missile systems with conventional warheads, potentially enabling China to pose a conventional threat to targets within the continental United States, as well as Hawaii and Alaska. Such conventionally armed ICBMs would introduce notable risks to strategic stability, as outlined in the report.

Compared to its nuclear modernization initiatives a decade ago, current efforts are significantly more extensive and intricate, says the report. China is expanding its land, sea, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms while investing in the essential infrastructure to support further nuclear force expansion.

By May 2023, the US estimates that China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads, and it predicts that China will possess over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. The report suggests that China will continue expanding its nuclear capabilities until 2035, aligning with its goal of completing its modernization by that year, a key milestone on the path to Chinese President Xi Jinping's aspiration for a "world-class" military by 2049.

Additionally, the report speculates that China might employ its new fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities for plutonium production in its nuclear weapons program, despite its public assertion that these technologies are intended for peaceful purposes.

The report reveals that in 2022, China likely completed the construction of three new solid-propellant silo fields, featuring at least 300 new ICBM silos. It's believed that some ICBMs have been loaded into these silos. The silo fields can support both DF-31 and DF-41 class ICBMs, with the intention of enhancing the readiness of China's nuclear force in peacetime, potentially moving toward a launch-on-warning (LOW) posture.