Pentagon: China has overtaken the United States in the number of launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles

Currently, China has surpassed the United States in the number of launchers for land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing the materials of the Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces.

The head of the US Strategic Command, Air Force General Anthony Cotton, in a special letter to the armed services committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the US Congress, noted that China has more silo and mobile launchers than the United States. However, America still outnumbers China in terms of the number of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles themselves.

The US also has more nuclear warheads. In addition, the United States has submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic bomber aviation. In these areas, Washington still has a clear advantage over Beijing.

Alabama Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, who is now chairman of the US House Armed Services Committee, believes China is moving closer to nuclear parity nonetheless. The US should not allow such a situation, the politician is convinced, and this requires appropriate changes and expansion of Washington's military capabilities.

At the same time, there are many supporters in the United States of maintaining the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) with Russia. They also believe that similar agreements should be concluded with China. Naturally, the United States itself may secretly and not comply with the agreements, continuing to build up its potential in this direction.

Comments

[Uprun]

Well, they began to draw a new enemy in the media and disperse the threat to national security. And the number of state warheads. a secret, one can only say highley likely, but in fact the one who is supposed to know this knows. So, that with a finger to the sky, that by launchers, that by the number of carriers.

[Quote Lavrov]

1. The American military-industrial complex has never been embarrassed by the style "everything is bad and we urgently need to catch up with the USSR / RF / PRC" - so there is nothing unusual in such articles. Just business. Nothing personal.
2. The number of warheads is limited just by the agreement named in the article, and its parties both publish and confirm the data with checks by the other side. There is nothing secret about this.
3. It is more correct to put the question differently - the structure of the platforms of the entire triad - one country relies on submarines, another on the ground component, etc. that is, it is necessary to compare taking into account the meaning of a particular part of the triad.

[Ka-52]

The number of warheads is limited just by the agreement named in the article, and its parties both publish and confirm the data with checks by the other side. There is nothing secret about this.

China is not bound by any treaties with the United States and is not obliged to provide data on its weapons in the field of strategic nuclear weapons

[Silver99]

always asked a theoretical question in the event of a nuclear conflict (God forbid) of two of the three Powers with the largest number of nuclear weapons, how will a third country behave? After all, it will not be possible to sit on the shore waiting for a passing enemy, again, if the United States decides to "punish" China, how will Russia behave?

[igorbrsv]

I think the third party will nervously smoke on the sidelines.
It calms me a little that Russia is larger in territory than the United States. So there will be more places to bury. And it is interesting where they will hit first of all. On the one hand, large cities must be destroyed, and they are in our western part. On the other hand, missile silos are needed. And they are mostly in the north and east. But there are few people there. Or enough for everyone
Well, Moscow will definitely be burned.
The states are easier. Their population is evenly distributed with the mines. It's definitely all screwed up there. And Poseidons cannot but rejoice. They are on duty right off the coast. Also interesting. The first batch is already on duty. Where will they land?

[alexmach]

After all, it will not be possible to sit on the shore waiting for a passing enemy

Why won't that work? actually quite an option. If you manage to survive the war while maintaining your potential, then here it is victory.

[alexmach]

And the number of state warheads. mystery, one can only say highley likely

But the number of mines is visible from space. True, some of them may well turn out to be false positions, or they may not turn out to be. The Chinese are great in this regard. In recent years, we have set up as many positions as necessary.

[Mouse]

China, however, is approaching nuclear parity. The US should not let this happen.

Amers tensed .....

[rotmistr60]

In these areas, Washington still has a clear advantage over Beijing.

And this reassured the Americans. But for insurance, they want to conclude an agreement with China similar to the one concluded with Russia. But the Chinese are clearly not happy with such a proposal. And absolutely right. because The United States showed how they relate to previously concluded agreements.

[igorbrsv]

. Naturally, the United States itself may secretly and not comply with the agreements, continuing to build up its potential in this direction.

If they could build up, then they would not boil like that

[the same doctor]

Right. It is better to have a lot of monobloc rockets than a few monstrous multi-block ones. Within the framework of the BGU, the more US launchers the enemy has, the more likely it is that a part will survive after the US attack. And given that today a single-piece ICBM of retaliation can fit in 20 tons and be transported on an ordinary truck ...

[igorbrsv]

And what will be its range? Will it fly through the Arctic to the Pentagon?

[Yves762]

Let nuclear parity between "Matra-SS-nicknames" (tm) and others, everyone who is not Russia, go through a reduction in potentials, and not an increase ... -, IMHO something like that.

[digger]

Well, this is logical based on the fact that the United States has a basis for an APL / RPKSN with SLBMs

[HattinGokbori88]

The West cannot do to China what it did to the Soviet Union. Unlike the Soviet Union, China is not a multinational empire where minorities (who were the majority in the border states) hated the central empire and the ethnic group that ruled it. China's only problem was with the eastern part of Turkestan (donated by the Soviet Union), but they had already resolved the issue with colonization and forced re-education camps. It will be very interesting to see how the West tries to win this new cold war in the next 20-30 years. And with Russia on the rise, they are in a very difficult position.

[dfk-80]

Americans will never calm down having at least one country on the planet with a nuclear potential even close to equal to that of the Americans. Now there are two such countries.
Accordingly, the amers have nothing to catch with conventional, nuclear or chemical weapons. That's where a lot of Amer biolaboratories come from on the planet.
These ki will stop at nothing.