China now has 500 nuclear warheads with its nuclear arsenal

China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other major superpower, and is in command of 500, a top European think tank has warned. 

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute wrote in a report published on Monday that Xi Xinping has increased his nation's nuclear stockpile from 410 to 500 in a single year.

The increase in nuclear weapons meant 'China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country' in absolute terms, WMD expert Hans M Kristensen told Insider. North Korea has also increasing its arsenal, going from 30 to 50 warheads in a single year, accounting for a 40% increase.

It comes as the US Department of Defence warned that China may have as many as 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. The Pentagon said in a report of China's growing nuclear powers: 'These changes to the numbers, capability, and readiness of the PRC's nuclear forces in the coming years are likely to outpace potential developments by the nuclear forces of any competitor.'

While the UK has just 225 warheads as of 2024, around half of the weapons it was in control of in the 1970s, the government announced earlier this year that it was developing a new warhead for its Trident missiles. Currently, the Trident II D5 missile is made in the US, and is 'mated' to British-made warheads in HMNB Clyde in Scotland after they leave Kings Bay, Georgia.

The government added that it was recommissioning the Valiant supercomputer to help 'validate the design, performance and reliability' of the new warhead. The MoD said in its Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper in March: 'Replacing the UK's warhead will ensure the UK's deterrent remains cutting-edge, safe and effective.'

But questions remain over whether the UK could even put the new warheads to good use, given the poor track record of the missiles they will be attached to.

In February, the UK's defence chief at the time, Grant Shapps, was forced to try and save face after a Trident missile failed during a test off the coast of Florida. The missile's first stage booster engine failed to ignite, causing it to fall back down and sink.

Shapps told Parliament that while he was on Trident to witness the 'anomaly', he insisted that it had 'reaffirmed the effectiveness of the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent.' He claimed Trident was still 'effective, dependable, and formidable.'

But critics said the UK needed to rethink its nuclear submarine programme.

'The U.K.'s nuclear weapons program is not functioning and needs an urgent rethink,' David Cullen, the director of the British monitoring group Nuclear Information Service, told CBS News at the time. 'This failure has happened with a backdrop of the navy struggling to maintain [Trident submarine] patrols and ballooning costs.'

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