Second Artillery Corps China established the Second Artillery as a branch of the PLA designed to operate its nuclear missiles. Top political leadership retained centralized control over the nuclear arsenal. In the late 1980s, China was the world's third-largest nuclear power, possessing a small but credible
nuclear deterrent force of approximately 100 to 400 nuclear weapons. Beginning in the late 1970s, China deployed a full range of nuclear weapons and acquired a nuclear
second-strike capability. The nuclear forces were operated by the 100,000-person Strategic Missile Force, which was controlled directly by the
General Staff. China began developing
nuclear weapons in the late 1950s with substantial
Soviet assistance. With the
Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union withheld plans and data for an
atomic bomb, abrogated the agreement on transferring
defense and
nuclear technology, and began the withdrawal of Soviet advisers in 1960. Despite the termination of Soviet assistance, China committed itself to continue nuclear weapons development to break "the
superpowers' monopoly on nuclear weapons," to ensure Chinese
security against the Soviet and American threats, and to increase Chinese prestige and power internationally. China made rapid progress in the 1960s in developing nuclear weapons. In a 32-month period, China successfully tested its first
atomic bomb on October 16, 1964, at
Lop Nor, launched its first
nuclear missile on October 27, 1966, and detonated its first
hydrogen bomb on June 17, 1967. Deployment of the
Dongfeng-1 conventionally armed
short-range ballistic missile and the
Dongfeng-2 (CSS-1)
medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) occurred in the 1960s. The
Dongfeng-3 (CCS-2)
intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was successfully tested in 1969. Although the
Cultural Revolution disrupted the
strategic weapons program less than other scientific and educational sectors in China, there was a slowdown in succeeding years.
Gansu hosted a missile launching area. China destroyed 9
U-2 surveillance craft while two went missing when they attempted to spy on it. By 1980, China had overcome the slowdown in nuclear development caused by the
Cultural Revolution and had successes in its strategic weapons program. In May 1980, China successfully test launched its full-range ICBM, the
Dongfeng-5 (CCS-4); the missile flew from central China to the
Western Pacific, where it was recovered by a naval task force. The Dongfeng-5 possessed the capability to hit targets in the
Soviet Union and the western
United States. In 1981, China launched three
satellites into
space orbit from a single
launch vehicle, indicating that China might possess the technology to develop
multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). China also launched the
Type 092 submarine SSBN (Xia-class) in 1981, and the next year it conducted its first successful test launch of the
Julang-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile (CSS-NX-4). In addition to the development of a sea-based nuclear force, China began considering the development of
tactical nuclear weapons. PLA exercises featured the simulated use of tactical nuclear weapons in offensive and defensive situations beginning in 1982. Reports of Chinese possession of tactical nuclear weapons had remained unconfirmed in 1987. In 1986, China possessed a credible deterrent force with land, sea and air elements. Land-based forces included ICBMs, IRBMs, and MRBMs. The sea-based strategic force consisted of SSBNs. The
Air Force's
bombers were capable of delivering
nuclear bombs but would be unlikely to penetrate the sophisticated
air defenses of modern military powers. During the 1999
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the
United States bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
47 News reported that the facility was likely located in the
Taihang Mountains. The
DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) made its first flight test on 9 January 2014; it likely entered service by October 2019. It is believed to have atop speed of Mach 10, or . Two Chinese technical papers from December 2012 and April 2013 show that China has concluded that hypersonic weapons pose "a new aerospace threat" and that they are developing satellite directed precision guidance systems. China is the third country to enter the "hypersonic arms race" after Russia and the United States. The U.S. Air Force has flown the
X-51A Waverider technology demonstrator and the U.S. Army has flight tested the
Advanced Hypersonic Weapon. China later confirmed the successful test flight of a "hypersonic missile delivery vehicle," but claimed it was part of a scientific experiment and not aimed at a target. Since 2013, the Second Artillery operated the
Kuaizhou family of
launch vehicles, derived from the
DF-21.
People's Liberation Army Rocket Force The name was changed from the PLA Second Artillery Corps to the PLA Rocket Force on 1 January 2016. Despite claims by some, there appears to be no evidence to suggest that the new generation of Chinese ballistic-missile submarines came under PLARF control.
US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center estimated that as of 2023 the number of Chinese nuclear warheads capable of reaching the United States has expanded well over 200. In June 2021, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies has found out that China is constructing new missile silo field in
Gansu in western China. According to the satellite picture, 119 missile silos for
intercontinental ballistic missiles are under construction near
Yumen City. In July,
Federation Of American Scientists found out there are another 110 silos being built in
Hami,
Xinjiang. The two significant expansion projects include silos more than ten times the number of ICBM silos in operation of PLARF today. In July 2021, China tested globe-circling hypersonic missile including the unprecedented launch of a separate 2nd missile from the ultra-high-speed vehicle according to the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. The test showed China's development of its strategic, nuclear-capable weapons as more advanced than any had thought, surprising Pentagon officials, the two newspapers said. Neither the United States nor Russia has demonstrated the same ability, which requires launching a missile from a parent vehicle traveling five times the speed of sound. According to reporting by the Financial Times, this weapons system consists of two parts: a fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) and a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). In July 2023,
South China Morning Post reported that PLARF commander
Li Yuchao and deputy commander Liu Guangbin were under the investigation by the
CMC Commission for Discipline Inspection. Later that month, both Li Yuchao and Liu Guangbin were officially removed from their posts, while
Wang Houbin was appointed as the commander of the PLARF. Additionally,
Xu Xisheng was appointed as the political commissar. Li Yuchao and Liu Guangbin's expulsion has not been formally explained. There are rumors that they are being investigated for corruption or disclosing military secrets. Furthermore, it was thought to be an odd decision to replace the Rocket Force commander with military personnel from outside the branch, and this led to concerns about the security, credibility, and integrity of the PLA as well as its participation in China's military tactics during the Taiwan Strait conflict. On 25 September 2024 at 00:44
UTC, the PLARF performed its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test over the Pacific Ocean since the early 1980s. The specific ICBM that was launched was not stated.
Missile ranges File:PRC Conventional Strike Ranges 2022.png|Chinese Conventional Strike Ranges as of 2022 File:China Nuclear Ballistic Missile Ranges.png|Chinese Nuclear Ballistic Missile Strike Ranges as of 2022 == Ranks ==