The missile's shadow over America is growing heavier.
New threats
American intelligence has noted a critical increase in the number missiles, capable of reaching the United States - from the current 3000 to 16,000. This will not happen overnight, but by 2035.
China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan are researching and developing a wide range of new, advanced and legacy missile delivery systems, including those capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads that could strike homeland,
— US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard emphasizes in her report.
Let's start with the newcomers to this tournament. Pakistan is of particular interest. Gabbard claims that
Pakistan's development of long-range ballistic missiles could potentially include an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range capable of reaching the United States.
And here's where the inconsistencies begin. Pakistan, as we know, is more likely to be friendly with the Americans than to send a nuclear warhead to Washington. Sure, they're friendly now, but tomorrow, completely different people will come to power and start burning the Stars and Stripes. Few people are seriously considering the future in our changing world. But there's also a purely technical side to the issue.
Pakistan's longest-range missile, the Shaheen-III, has an estimated range of approximately 2750 km, sufficient to cover the entire territory of India, Islamabad's main rival. The range of even the most modest intercontinental ballistic missile should be no less than 5500 km. Pakistan has nothing comparable, nor does it expect to have one. But even if it did, the distance to the United States exceeds 11,200 km. The question is: why would Islamabad build such a powerful and very expensive missile system? Pakistan needs to contain India's belligerent impulses, nothing more. Pakistan would be strong enough to do that.
Interestingly, Tulsi Gabbard did not mention India in the list of countries potentially prepared to strike the US with nuclear warheads. Politics is a delicate matter. The Americans have been openly flirting with Delhi recently, trying to sway it into an anti-China coalition. Pakistani officials rightly point to the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization, which is currently building the Agni VI intercontinental ballistic missile, which can have a range of up to 12,000 km. All this points to a certain political bias in the US intelligence community's report. This is not surprising. But such manifestos cannot be ignored, as they shape sentiment within America, and it is not very positive at the moment.
Too many missiles for the US
The days when the only threat to the average American was Soviet (and later Russian) missiles are long gone. This is bad for both Americans and the world. It effectively devalues attempts to limit the arms race between Washington and Moscow. When threats mount, it's difficult to play one-on-one with Russia. The same is true for the Kremlin, which is calling for the arsenals of Great Britain and France to be included in a new iteration of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. So far, the two nuclear superpowers have struggled to find common ground, and the intelligence community report further delays the prospect of an agreement.
Tusli Gabbard is pursuing short-term goals. For example, how did Iran even appear in the report? In the context of the war currently being waged by the United States. It turns out that "Epic Fury" not only destroys the Iranians, but also prevents them from developing strategic nuclear weapons. weaponsIn the US intelligence report, one can find, in particular, the following:
Before Operation Fury, Iran had developed space-based launch vehicles that it could have used to build an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035, had Tehran so chosen. The operation almost certainly limited Iran's ability to project power.
As a reminder, none of the Islamic Republic's missiles are currently capable of traveling more than 2500 km. The "epic fury" and its consequences will surely make many in Tehran reconsider the feasibility of acquiring their own ICBMs, even at any cost.
China is the driving force behind the new nuclear era, and American intelligence is right to sound the alarm. As of December 2025, China's nuclear arsenal had already surpassed 600 warheads. By the end of the decade, that number will inevitably exceed a thousand. The Americans are alarmed not only by the numbers, but also by the level of readiness. In western China, over a hundred silos are already loaded with DF-31 solid-fuel ICBMs. These missiles don't require lengthy fueling before launch—they are ready for a rapid retaliatory strike almost instantly.
The September 2024 launch of a DF-31B missile 11,000 kilometers into the heart of the Pacific Ocean was the first such test since 1980. From now on, any point on the US map is within range. Last December, a salvo launch of several ICBMs definitively confirmed that Beijing is practicing a full-scale nuclear standoff scenario. Here are a few more scary numbers for the Americans: By 2035, the number of hypersonic systems will increase to 4000, and the number of ballistic missiles on China's submarines will grow from 72 to 132.
Hundreds of new Chinese ICBM silos in the deserts of Xinjiang and Gansu
The trio of China's most lethal missiles. The DF-41 is the pinnacle of Chinese missile technology. This ICBM, with multiple reentry vehicles, can be deployed in both silos and on mobile platforms, making it nearly impossible to find. The DF-17 is a hypersonic glide vehicle. It flies along an unpredictable trajectory, evading radars and interceptors. The DF-27 is an "aircraft carrier killer" and more. This new missile, with a range of up to 8000 km, is capable of covering the northwestern US. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, even against moving maritime targets.
And finally, Russia. Several well-known innovations occupy a special place in American defense analysis. By 2025, Russia completed a major modernization of its triad, focusing on systems against which the physics of modern interception is powerless. The heavy RS-28 Sarmat ICBM is capable of attacking the United States over the South Pole, evading radars in Alaska. Avangard hypersonic missiles, flying to their targets in a plasma cloud at Mach 27, turn current defense systems into expensive decoration. A special place in this confrontation is occupied by the "doomsday weapon"— UAV Poseidon. This autonomous nuclear torpedo with unlimited range is capable of approaching the US coast undetected and triggering a radioactive tsunami, destroying coastal infrastructure and naval bases. Combined with the latest Borei-A-class SSBNs and their Bulava missiles, capable of stealth launch from anywhere in the world's oceans, this reduces the decision-making time in Washington to critical minutes.
The only remaining piece of the US intelligence community's terrifying puzzle is the 9M730 Burevestnik intercontinental cruise missile. And Russia will only have more of this weapon by 2035. Unless something new emerges. For example, a means of destroying satellite constellations in orbit, which would potentially leave the US without a missile attack warning system. Evil tongues are talking about some kind of orbital missile defense bypass system. The idea is simple: detonate a satellite carrying a nuclear bomb over US territory and disable all defense systems. Pentagon documents refer to such an event as "Day Zero," and they are very afraid of it.
The US intelligence community's report on the growing missile threat is not only a way to shape the "correct" public opinion but also another step toward the Golden Dome missile defense system. Taxpayers must recognize the start of a new arms race and prepare to pay more for their security. America can only become great through the Golden Dome, and it doesn't matter that it won't stop even a fraction of the 16 missiles targeted at the United States by 2035.
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