China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads: Pentagon

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Pentagon said Thursday that China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably have 1,000 by 2030.

"In 2022, Beijing continued its rapid nuclear expansion, and DoD estimates that the PRC (People's Republic of China) possessed more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023—on track to exceed previous projections," it said in its annual report on China's military and security developments.

The report estimated that PRC (People's Republic of China) will "probably" have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030, "much of which will be deployed at higher readiness levels and will continue growing its force to 2035."

"The PRC probably will use its new fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program, despite publicly maintaining these technologies are intended for peaceful purposes," it said.

China is also increasing its inventory of nuclear delivery systems on land, sea and air, according to the report.

The Federation of American Scientists said the US has a stockpile of about 3,700 nuclear warheads while Russia has 1,550 nuclear weapons.