Chinese ICBM launchers outnumber those of the US - reports
STRATCOM's report added that the US possesses more ICBMs and more nuclear warhead-mounted ICBMs.
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Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-17 roll during a parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese military forces have more intercontinental-range ballistic missiles than the US, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) report.
The article reported that STRATCOM has informed the concerned committees in the US House and Senate that China had more land-based ICBM launchers (both fixed and mobile) than the US armed forces: adding however that many of the silos of China's land-based launchers are still empty.
STRATCOM's report added that the US possesses more ICBMs and more nuclear warhead-mounted ICBMs.
US officials pointed out that STRATCOM's comparative study report doesn't account for submarine-launched missiles and long-range bombers which the US enjoys a comparative advantage in both.
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STRATCOM Chief informed congress that China is set to overtake the US in terms of land-based long-range nuclear missile capacity unless the US heftily invests to maintain a military upper hand.
The Chief had previously warned of China's increasingly developing capacities. He assessed that China has crossed the threshold in the balance of power globally amounting to a threat to the status quo power structure in the international regime.
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