We have missiles that can reach anywhere in this world, your nuclear stockpile is backward and smaller than Pakistan's, you can try and you can see what will happen to your land. We have own your defence systems and you don't have any. Don't just talk, try it out.
China tests missile with 10 nuclear warheads: Report
PTI | Updated: Feb 2, 2017, 03.05 PM IST
BEIJING: China has reportedly tested a new version of a missile that can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads, signalling a major shift in its nuclear capability as Beijing gears up for a possible military showdown with the US under Trump Presidency.
The flight test of the
DF-5C missile was carried out last month using 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs, the
Washington Free Beaconreported.
The test of the inert warheads was monitored closely by US intelligence agencies, said two officials familiar with reports of the missile test.
The Dongfeng-5C missile, carrying 10 dummy warheads, was launched from the Taiyuan Space Launch Centre in Shanxi province, and flew to a desert in western China, the report said.
The missile is a new variant of the
DF-5, an intercontinental ballistic missile that first went into service in the early 1980's.
"The [Defence Department] routinely monitors Chinese military developments and accounts for PLA capabilities in our defence plans," Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross was quoted as saying by the report.
For decades, the US has put the estimated number of warheads in China's nuclear arsenal at about 250.
But the report suggested that the latest test with 10 warheads meant the actual number could be larger.
China also began adding warheads to older DF-5 missiles in February last year, according to US intelligence agencies.
US defence officials have previously warned that China's rapid development of long-range ballistic missiles, coupled with a lack of transparency about its nuclear capabilities, could bring uncertainty to stability in the region.
