ΠOver the past five years, China has significantly expanded the total area of its missile production facilities. This conclusion was reached by the American television channel CNN, based on an analysis of satellite images, maps and publicly available documents of Chinese state departments.
The television material claims that as of 2020, the area of over 60% of the 136 facilities related to the production of various types of combat missiles is increased by 2 million square meters.
One of these facilities is the plant in Πekin, which produces the Dongfeng-26 (DF-26) medium-range ballistic missile, equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle. The range of the basic version of the missile reaches 4,000 kilometers.
ΠIn June, General Ronald Clark, commander of the Pacific theater of military operations of the US Army, said that "China is developing its military potential and technologies at an unprecedented pace and scale, including in the production of missiles".
Πo Pentagon estimates that by 2024 China's nuclear arsenal will include more than 600 warheads, which could increase to 1,000 by 2030. The US Department of Defense also believes that China already possesses a diverse arsenal of nuclear weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.