China Defense Industry

Category Highlights
How Many Nuclear Weapons Does China Have? Warheads and Missiles

How Many Nuclear Weapons Does China Have? Warheads and Missiles

China has about 620 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists' 2026 estimate, making it the world's third-largest nuclear power after Russia and...

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What Fighter Jets Does China Have? J-20, J-35, J-16 and J-10C

What Fighter Jets Does China Have? J-20, J-35, J-16 and J-10C

China has the largest air force in Asia and the second-largest fleet of stealth fighters in the world. The Pentagon counts more than 3,100 aircraft...

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What Missiles Does China Have? DF-41, DF-26, DF-17 and More

What Missiles Does China Have? DF-41, DF-26, DF-17 and More

China has the largest and most varied land-based missile force in the world. The Pentagon estimated in 2024 that the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force...

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PL-15, the Chinese Missile That Rattled Western Air Forces

PL-15, the Chinese Missile That Rattled Western Air Forces

The PL-15 is China’s standard long-range air-to-air missile, an AESA-seeker weapon credited by analysts with 200 kilometers or more of reach and thrust into headlines...

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DF-17, the Chinese Hypersonic Glide Missile Explained

DF-17, the Chinese Hypersonic Glide Missile Explained

The DF-17 is China’s first operational hypersonic glide vehicle missile, unveiled with 16 launchers at the October 2019 Beijing parade and credited by Western analysts...

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DF-26, the Missile That Put Guam on the Front Line

DF-26, the Missile That Put Guam on the Front Line

Guam sits 3,000 kilometers from China, a distance that once meant sanctuary and now means targeting data. The DF-26 is the missile that erased that...

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DF-21D, the Missile That Changed How Carriers Sail

DF-21D, the Missile That Changed How Carriers Sail

No weapon has moved American aircraft carriers as effectively as one that has never hit a ship. China's DF-21D, the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile,...

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China’s Missile Force Now Outgrows Its Nuclear Warhead Stockpile

China’s Missile Force Now Outgrows Its Nuclear Warhead Stockpile

China Is Building More Missile Launchers Than It Has Warheads to Fill Them China's rocket force has spent the past several years pouring concrete for...