{"id":45881,"date":"2018-08-17T12:50:24","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T12:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/17\/pentagon-china-close-to-nuclear-triad-has-practiced-targeting-us\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:05:14","slug":"pentagon-china-close-to-nuclear-triad-has-practiced-targeting-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2018\/08\/17\/pentagon-china-close-to-nuclear-triad-has-practiced-targeting-us\/","title":{"rendered":"China, close to establishing its own \u2018nuclear triad,\u2019 has practiced targeting US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Pentagon, for the first time, has publicly reported what commanders in the Pacific have known about, and kept a wary eye on, for some time: China is practicing long-range bombing runs against U.S. targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Defense Department annually reports on the rapid growth in capabilities of China\u2019s air, land and sea forces, the 2018 report is the first to acknowledge the direct threat to U.S. territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent developments on China\u2019s H-6K variant of its Badger bomber give the bomber \u201cthe capability to carry six land-attack cruise missiles, giving the PLA a long-range standoff precision strike capability that can range Guam,\u201d the report said. It also acknowledged frequent bombing practice runs that U.S. commanders at the newly renamed U.S. INDOPACOM in Hawaii have watched expand in numbers and distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\t