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Front Page News Items From 2008
More from the office of public
intelligence assessments...
Extensive Nuclear Missile Deployment Area Seen in
Central China
(May 15, 2008) Analysis of new
commercial satellite photos has identified an
extensive deployment area with nearly 60 launch pads
for medium-range mobile nuclear ballistic missiles
in Central China. The U.S. government often
highlights China’s deployment of new mobile missiles
as a concern but keeps the details secret, so the
discovery of the deployment area provides the first
opportunity for the public to better understand how
China operates its mobile ballistic missiles.
Read more here...
Dozens of launch pads
for mobile nuclear missiles dot this region of
Central China
Several US nuclear
weapons were deployed near Taiwan in 1958
New information about US-Chinese
Nuclear Relations
Nukes in the Taiwan Crisis
(May 13, 2008) The 1958 Taiwan
Strait crisis triggered U.S. nuclear strike planning
but also presidential caution, a newly declassified
document shows. Yet caution did not prevent a
massive nuclear buildup in the region in the years
that followed. After a hiatus in the 1980s and first
half of the 1990s, China and the Taiwan scenario
have again become a focus for U.S. nuclear strike
planning.
Read more...
Despite recent reassertions by
Russian officials...
Russian Nuclear Missile Submarine Patrols Decrease
Again
(April 28, 2008) The number of
deterrence patrols conducted by Russia’s 11
nuclear-powered ballistic missiles submarines
(SSBNs) decreased to only three in 2007 from five in
2006, The new practice indicates that Russia no
longer maintains a continuous SSBN patrol posture
like that of the United States, Britain, and France,
but instead has shifted to a new posture where it
occasionally deploys an SSBN for training purposes.
Read more...
Russian SSBNs no longer
maintain
permanent deterrent posture at sea
A Jin-class SSBN has
arrived at Hainan Island
From the private intelligence
department:
New Chinese SSBN Arrives at Hainan Island
(April 24, 2008) One of the China's
new Jin-class (Type 094) nuclear-powered ballistic
missiles submarines has arrived at Yulin Naval Base
on Hainan Island, according to a satellite photo
obtained by the Federation of American Scientists.
The photo also reveals what appears to be a
demagnetization facility, the first known to have
been built by China.
Read more...
New China Estimate From the
Bolt...
Chinese Nuclear Arsenal Increase by 25 Percent Since
2006, Pentagon Report Indicates
(March 6, 2008) The Pentagon’s 2008
annual report to Congress on China’s military power
indicates that China has increased its nuclear
arsenal by 25 percent since 2006 due to deployment of
ballistic and cruise missiles. Part of the increase
will be offset by retirement of older system. The
report also echoes my analysis of the Chinese
submarine fleet.
Read more...
China's has begun
deployment of the
DF-10 nuclear-capable cruise missile
One of the biggest
nuclear weapons blunders in U.S.
nuclear history is missing from Air Combat
Command's incident list.
Remember the Minot Incident? Well
Air Combat Command apparently doesn't...
Nuclear Safety and the Saga About the Missing Bent
Spear
(February 22, 2008) The incident where
six nuclear weapons were accidentally flown on a
B-52 bomber across the United States last August is
missing from Air Combat Command's list of
significant nuclear weapons incidents, according to
this article on the FAS Strategic Security Blog. The
article also assesses the official internal
investigations of the incident.
Read more...
New information on Chinese submarine
operations
Chinese Submarine Patrols Rebound, but Remain
Limited
(January 7, 2008) China's entire fleet of approximately 55
general-purpose submarines sailed on six patrols
during 2007, according to new information obtained
from the U.S. Navy. China's ballistic missile
submarines did not conduct any deterrent patrols and
never have. For more information, go
here.
China's submarine force conducted
six patrols during 2007.
