The Chinese military has continued to build out its nuclear arsenal in what a new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency characterized as “the most rapid expansion and ambitious modernization … in history.”

The DIA estimates that by the end of the decade, China will have more than 1,000 operational nuclear weapons, a majority of which it believes will be fielded on systems that have the capability to hit the continental United States. In 2020, the Pentagon estimated Beijing had a nuclear arsenal of more than 200 and was expected to double by the end of this decade.