The Underground Great Wall of China (
) is the informal name for the vast system of tunnels
China uses to store and transport mobile
intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Description
Due to the great secrecy surrounding the tunnels, not much information about them is publicly available; however, it is believed that the tunnels allow for mobile ICBMs to be shuttled around to different silos, and possibly stored in reinforced underground bunkers. This greatly enhances the ICBM's chance of survival in a direct nuclear strike, which enables their use in a
second strike unlike ICBMs based in static
nuclear silos which are susceptible to a direct nuclear attack.
A report written by a
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
team led by Phillip Karber conducted a three-year study mapping out China's complex tunnel system, which stretches 5,000 km (3,000 miles). The report determined that the size of the Chinese nuclear arsenal is understated and as many as 3,000 nuclear warheads may be stored in the
tunnel network
In transport, tunnels can be connected together to form a tunnel network. These can be used in mining to reach ore below ground, in cities for underground rapid transit systems, in sewer systems, in warfare to avoid enemy detection or attacks, as ...
. This hypothetical maximum storage or basing capacity along with Karber's own misconceived
fissile
In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material capable of sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction. By definition, fissile material can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of thermal energy. The predominant neutron energy may be t ...
production suggestions, resulted in Western media purporting that 3,000 warheads were actually in the facility. The Karber study went on to state that the tunnels are not likely to be breached by conventional or low-yield earth-penetrating nuclear weapons such as the
B61-11.
See also
*
816 Nuclear Military Plant
*
Iranian underground missile bases
According to Iranian authorities, Iranian underground missile bases or silos ( fa, پایگاه های موشکی زیرزمینی ایران ), also known as the Missile Cities ( fa, شهرهای موشکی) exist in all provinces and cities of ...
References
External links
Strategic implications of China's Underground Great Wall, Karber 2011.Hosted by FAS.PDF
{{Coord missing, China
Military installations of China