FAS: China updating nuke launch sites

WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. expert said Thursday China had updated some of its key nuclear ICBM sites that could threaten the United States.

The Federation of American Scientists said in a statement that Hans M. Kristensen, the director of its Nuclear Information Project, had "analyzed commercial satellite images that show China has significantly reorganized facilities believed to be launch sites for nuclear ballistic missiles near Delingha in the northern parts of Central China.

"The images indicate that older liquid-fueled missiles previously thought to have been deployed in the area may have been replaced with newer solid-fueled missiles. From the sites, the missiles are within range of three Intercontinental Ballistic Missile fields and a bomber base in the southern parts of central Russia," the FAS statement said.

"Clearly visible in the images are eight 13-meter trucks lined up on a launch pad," the statement said. "The satellite image is not of high enough resolution to identify the trucks and their features with certainty, but they strongly resemble the six-axle transport erector launchers (TELs) in use with the 10-meter DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile. A vague line across the trailer two-thirds toward the rear resembles the position of the hydraulic pumps used to erect the missile canister to a vertical position."

The U.S. Department of Defense warned in its most recent annual report on China's military strength mandated by Congress that China was investing an unprecedented level of resources in expanding and modernizing its armed forces, including its strategic nuclear capabilities.