After keeping it a secret for a long time, China has revealed the first details of a nuclear weapon that is 200 times more powerful than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, which killed tens of thousands of people in World War II.
Although China has long kept its nuclear program secret, state broadcaster CCTV revealed details about the upgraded DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday.
According to journalist Li Zexin's reports in 'X', the DF-5B nuclear-powered missile is a weapon with a range of 12,070 km and has a staggering explosive power with an accuracy of 0.48 km. This range is enough to reach most of Europe and almost all of the US from launch sites within China.
For example, the distance from Beijing to London is about 8,046 km and from China to New York is approximately 11,265 km.
The DF-5B is said to have a yield of three to four megatons, about 200 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which had an estimated explosive power of about 15 kilotons of TNT.
It also far exceeds the destructive power of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, which had a yield of about 21 kilotons of TNT.
The high-tech missile has integrated reentry vehicle technology allowing it to carry and launch multiple nuclear warheads at the same time. A single DF-5B missile can launch up to 10 nuclear warheads, hitting multiple targets over wide areas.
Since each warhead is independent, missile defense systems find it much more difficult to intercept, making this weapon much more deadly than other known weapons.
CCTV described the missile as China's "first-generation strategic ICBM." The DF-5B, first developed in 2015, is an improved variant of China's DF-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which entered service in 1981.
It is not clear why this information was released, but it is believed that Beijing wants to showcase its military modernization and deter potential threats. It comes just days after China deployed its most dangerous nuclear bombers to a small island, as revealed by satellite images.
Aerial photos show two large H-6 bombers at an airfield on Woody Island in the South China Sea.
The long-range aircraft date back to the 1950s and are modeled after Soviet-era fighter jets. But they have been upgraded to carry modern weapons, including hypersonic and nuclear missiles.
They are considered China's most advanced bombers and this is the first time they have been seen at this airbase in five years.
US intelligence had previously warned that China could invade the smaller islands of Taiwan as the first step of a full-scale invasion.
In September 2024, China launched a missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons into the Pacific Ocean, marking its first test in 40 years. The ICBM, launched by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, carried an artificial warhead.
The Chinese defense ministry said in a statement that the missile "landed in expected maritime areas" and that it was a routine arrangement in the annual exercise plan. (A2 Televizion)
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