I wonder why is that the DF-41 is always shrouded in a tarp? What is it so secret that we havent yet seen it without a cover? it had it in NE china and now in xinjiang too.
China Ballistic Missiles and Nuclear Arms Thread
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I wonder why is that the DF-41 is always shrouded in a tarp? What is it so secret that we havent yet seen it without a cover? it had it in NE china and now in xinjiang too.
Hyperwarp
Captain
antiterror13
Brigadier
because it is more modern and advance than anything else in the world
... so China doesn't really want to shock the world 
Lethe
Captain
Could just be for protection from the weather.
Hyperwarp
Captain
or camouflage from eyes from above. Many system in the PLA forces use the camouflaged covers.
manqiangrexue
Brigadier
LOL I think this is one of those stupid things that was created by the circumstances and blown out of proportion for a headline. When I first saw the title, I thought he actually said, "I'd nuke China if I got the order from the president." That actually didn't happen. The dude was there giving a speech on military loyalty to the executive office. (Does that mean that there are factions in the US military that think Trump is crazy and would not obey him? I don't know.) He said,
"Every member of the US military has sworn an oath to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the United States as commander and chief appointed over us. This is core to the American democracy and any time you have a military that is moving away from a focus and an allegiance to civilian control, then we really have a significant problem.”
And right after he said it, some dickhead asked him if he would nuke China given the executive order to do so, clearly challenging his idea of absolute loyalty hoping to either get him to sound provocative by saying yes or to make him look like an idiot by backtracking on what he just said by implying that he does not actually give his full loyalty to the president. Swift chose the former and just said yes, like when your boss gave you 3 assignments instead of 1 so you just say yes cus you can't say no, but you certainly did not go to him and ask for them. He could not say, "Uh, we only attack little nations like Iraq and Libya; if the president told me to start a war with China or Russia, I'd just stand there and look at him like he had 3 heads."
In reality, if he got an order from Trump to start a nuclear war out of the blue, he'd probably make about 100 phone calls to authenticate the order, then to get all the other generals on board with what the hell is going on, is Trump drunk, etc... I imagine a similar process in China and Russia (though maybe a little less since Xi and Putin aren't globally recognized for being insane but, but not much less). That said, it is the duty of the generals of all nations, including all of the big 3 to obey their presidents and if it is to start a nuclear war, that's listed as a possibility in the job description. If you're a general who won't obey the order to fight, you probably need a new profession.
But anyway, he got asked a dick question, and his colleague, Brown, actually tried to smooth things over with a follow-up:
"The admiral was not addressing the premise of the question, he was addressing the principle of civilian authority of the military. The premise of the question was ridiculous."
It's an interesting stupid thing that happened and I wouldn't change anything for it. Although I do agree with you that China should build more DF-41 and DF-ZF, maybe about 2,500-3,000.
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AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Newspapers, especially on the internet, like to exaggerate, embellish, and spin in the headlines in order to get people to read, or click-on, the article. Pretty hypocritical to complain about Chinese spy ships in Australia's economic zone when the US always sends spy ships into China's economic zone. Remember when Obama use to question China spying on "friends" if they really wanted to be friends? Then after Edward Snowden, the world finds out the US was spying on it closest allies doing literally everything accused of China.
Lethe
Captain
Admiral Swift could not answer other than as he did. Nonetheless, if such an order were actually to arrive, one can only hope that the persons involved would consider their duties not only to the chain of command, but also to the American people and indeed to humanity. The same applies for their Chinese counterparts.
That many delivery systems would be unnecessary I think.
8 SSBNs with 12-16 mirved SLBMs each (allowing at least 2 SSBNs on patrol at any time) that can cover the important targets from Chinese waters, coupled with 80-100 DF-31A/AG/41 TELs with a combination of mirv and non-mirv warheads will be much more sensible in the medium term... totalling a few hundred ICBM range nuclear warheads, I think will be more than enough for deterrence purposes.
Remember the cost of developing a nuclear arsenal isn't just the warheads, but a massive chunk goes to developing, procuring and maintaining the delivery systems (missiles themselves). 3000 DF-41s would be insane and approach cold war era levels.
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