A team led by Yin Zihong, associate professor of civil engineering at Southwest Jiaotong University in Sichuan province, investigated the use of high-speed trains to carry and launch nuclear weapons.
According to the South China Morning Post, the team's results showed that high-speed rail vehicles are better suited for this type of work than traditional transportation technologies.
According to the report of Independent Turkish, the team's statement included the statements: "Compared to the railways used in heavy freight transportation, high-speed trains run more smoothly":
“This means that the mobility, security and concealment of military vehicles on high-speed trains will be more possible.”
High-speed trains in China travel at an average speed of 350 kilometers per hour. These vehicles consist of 60 wagons, each weighing approximately 16 tons.
The idea of using railroads to transport and deploy nuclear weapons is not new. It is known that the USA and the USSR also evaluated such practices during the Cold War. However, the concept has been reconsidered in recent years by countries such as China and North Korea.
In light of the new research, it is stated that China's plans include the transportation of DF-80 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, each weighing 41 tons.
According to some experts, it is not unusual for the country to consider transporting or even launching these heavy missiles with a range of about 14 kilometers by rail. The progress the country has made in railway technology is remarkable.
The Asian giant managed to build a high-speed rail network of more than 20 thousand kilometers in less than 40 years and became the world's number one by far, surpassing Japan and Spain.
But China is not in such a pretentious position when it comes to nuclear warheads. It is estimated that the country currently has about 350 nuclear warheads.
That's why it lags far behind the United States and Russia, which are thought to have 5 and 428 nuclear warheads, respectively.
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