- China has expanded its nuclear arsenal from 410 to 500 in one year
- Experts say China is expanding its supply ‘faster than any other country’
- The Pentagon warned that China could have as many as 1,000 by 2030
China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other major superpower and commands 500 nuclear weapons, a top European think tank has warned.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute wrote in a report published Monday that Xi Xinping increased his country’s nuclear stockpile from 410 to 500 in one year.
The increase in nuclear weapons meant that “China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country,” in absolute terms, WMD expert Hans M. Kristensen told Insider.
North Korea has also expanded its arsenal, from 30 to 50 nuclear warheads in one year, an increase of 40%.
It comes as the US Defense Department warned that China could have as many as 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.
Xi Xinping has increased his country’s nuclear stockpile from 410 to 500 in one year (file image)
The increase in nuclear weapons meant that ‘China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country’ in absolute terms (File Image)
The Pentagon said in a report on China’s growing nuclear forces: “These changes in the numbers, capabilities and readiness of the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear forces in the coming years are likely to limit the potential developments of any competitor’s nuclear forces.” also surpass.’
While Britain had just 225 nuclear warheads in 2024, about half the weapons it controlled in the 1970s, the government announced earlier this year that it was developing a new warhead for its Trident missiles.
Currently, the Trident II D5 missile is being made in the US and ‘mated’ to British-made warheads at HMNB Clyde in Scotland after they leave Kings Bay, Georgia.
The government added that it was recommissioning the Valiant supercomputer to help “validate the design, performance and reliability” of the new warhead.
The Ministry of Defense said in its Defense Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper in March: ‘Replacing the UK nuclear warhead will ensure the UK’s deterrent remains advanced, safe and effective.’
But questions remain about whether Britain could put the new warheads to good use at all, given the poor track record of the missiles they will be paired with.
In February, then British defense chief Grant Shapps was forced to save face after a Trident missile failed during a test off the coast of Florida.
The rocket’s first stage booster engine failed to ignite, causing it to fall back down and sink.
Shapps told Parliament that while he was at Trident to witness the ‘anomaly’, he insisted it had ‘reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent’.
He claimed Trident was still “effective, reliable and formidable.”
But critics said Britain needed to rethink its nuclear submarine programme.
“The UK’s nuclear weapons program is dysfunctional and needs urgent rethinking,” David Cullen, director of the UK monitoring group Nuclear Information Service, told CBS News at the time.
“This failure has happened against the backdrop of a situation where the Navy is struggling to stay afloat [Trident submarine] patrols and rising costs.”