As of 2025, China is estimated to have approximately 600 nuclear warheads. This represents a significant increase from previous years, with China adding about 100 new warheads annually since around 2023. China’s nuclear arsenal is now larger than the combined arsenals of the UK and France and is growing faster than any other country's. China operates a nuclear triad which includes land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and air-launched ballistic missiles, although the capabilities and deployment of these are still being developed. Currently, about 376 warheads are assigned to land-based missiles, 72 to submarine-based missiles, and around 20 to aircraft, with roughly 132 warheads produced for future systems. China has also completed or is close to completing around 350 new ICBM silos, which could allow it to match the numbers of the US or Russia by the end of this decade. Despite this growth, China's nuclear arsenal remains significantly smaller than those of the United States and Russia, which each have over 5,000 warheads. China projects that it could have between 750 and 1,500 warheads by 2035, still only about a third of the current US and Russian arsenals.
