A rigorous test to examine the ability of nuclear-proof data link communications equipment to survive a nuclear attack has been completed in China, according to engineers involved in the project.
Equipment was pushed well beyond the limits of existing military standards in the test, they said.
News of the simulation exercise comes amid a growing fear of nuclear war. In March, the UN warned that the risk of nuclear war had reached its highest point in decades.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, China, France, Russia and Britain – which possess the most nuclear weapons, have all recently conducted tests of strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles.
China’s launch of a DF-31AG missile with 12,000km (7,450-mile) range last month drew global attention because it had not publicly demonstrated this ability for more than four decades.
Beijing has pledged not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. This means China’s retaliating forces need to survive the first wave of any attack.
