New Pentagon report claims China now has over 500 operational nuclear warheads

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/ [login to see] /new-pentagon-report-claims-china-now-has-over-500-operational-nuclear-warheads
China may be accelerating its efforts to develop a nuclear arsenal, according to a new report from the Pentagon, as part of its ongoing efforts to modernize and revamp its fighting forces in order to match American military capabilities.

The latest assessment from the defense department said China had increased its arsenal of operational nuclear warheads from the estimated 400 in 2021 to more than 500 as of May this year.

That figure is still a fraction of the more-than 5,000 warheads the United States and the Russian Federation say they each possess in their nuclear stockpiles (of which under 1,500 warheads are ready to be launched at any time). The Pentagon estimates that China is aiming for about 1,500 total nuclear warheads in their arsenal by 2035.