The most active phase of expansion, according to The Washington Post, began in 2021.
According to The Washington Post, China accelerated the modernization of secret facilities of its nuclear program.
China is actively upgrading a number of secret facilities related to the production of nuclear warhead components. The Washington Post reports this, citing satellite imagery and expert assessments.
According to the publication, the work is taking place amid Beijing’s efforts to create faster response capabilities to a potential attack and to update key elements of the nuclear infrastructure that had previously escaped analysts’ attention. The image analysis was conducted by experts from the Austrian organization Open Nuclear Network and the London-based center VERTIC, cross-referencing data with declassified documents, scientific publications, and data on the movement of military equipment.
Key findings of the study
The photos show at least six facilities involved in warhead production.
The most active phase of the expansion, according to The Washington Post, began in 2021: in the mountainous region of Sichuan Province, modernization touched a facility involved in the production of plutonium cores. The security perimeter was expanded, buildings updated, and new construction sites deployed.
Similar work is also underway at another site in Sichuan, likely linked to the manufacture of explosive components for initiating nuclear reactions – since 2021 a protective wall has been erected there, and possibly a new storage facility.
In Zitong County, in 2024 a facility of about 40,000 square meters was completed, which can be used for assembling and preparing warhead components. Experts believe that in the near term China’s arsenal will not reach the scale of the United States, but changes in the nuclear program signal preparation for a prolonged arms race.
Reuters also cited a confidential Pentagon report according to which China could increase its number of warheads to several thousand by 2030 and accelerate military preparations in light of a possible conflict around Taiwan.