Swedish Analysis Says China to Have Most ICBMs In The World – in 10 Years

By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

China is well behind the US and Russia when it comes to nuclear weapons – but that may not last long.

According to a report released Monday, China is expanding its nuclear forces faster than any other country. And in less than a decade, according to a Swedish think tank, it could have more intercontinental ballistic missiles than anyone else.

The report came from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its annual study found that the nine nuclear-armed countries are increasing the number and types of nuclear weapons in development. SIPRI also says those countries are deepening their reliance on nuclear deterrence.

The study estimates there are now more than 12,000 nuclear warheads worldwide – almost 90 percent of which are either Russian or American. But the institute says that for the first time, China is believed to have some nuclear weapons on high operational alert.

China is estimated to have increased its stockpile from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 a year later. “Depending on how it decides to structure its forces, China could potentially have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as either Russia of the USA by the turn of the decade,” the study says, “although its stockpile of nuclear warheads is still expected to remain much smaller than the stockpiles of either of those two countries.”

Earlier this year, the US intelligence community released its annual threat assessment and said China has probably built more than 300 new ICBM silos, and has loaded at least some of them with missiles.

“As its nuclear force grows, Beijing’s confidence in its nuclear deterrent probably will bolster the PRC’s resolve and intensify conventional conflicts,” the report concluded.