{"product_id":"2940148761631","title":"CHINA\u0026#x2019;S NUCLEAR FORCES: OPERATIONS, TRAINING, DOCTRINE, COMMAND, CONTROL, AND CAMPAIGN PLANNING","description":"A decade ago, many scholars and policy analysts\u003cbr\u003ewho followed China dismissed the People’s Liberation\u003cbr\u003eArmy (PLA) as an antiquated force that was essentially\u003cbr\u003einfantry, fighting with decades-old weapons, poor\u003cbr\u003ecommunications, and World War II era doctrine.\u003cbr\u003eChina’s nuclear forces were also technologically\u003cbr\u003eoutmoded and fixed to silo or tunnel launch sites. Very\u003cbr\u003elittle information was available about China’s “Second\u003cbr\u003eArtillery Corps,” as China calls its strategic rocket\u003cbr\u003eforces. The United States knew that the PLA maintained\u003cbr\u003ea separate corps of rocket troops, but its doctrine and\u003cbr\u003ecommand and control structures remained shrouded\u003cbr\u003ein secrecy. Chinese diplomats, political leaders, and\u003cbr\u003esecurity thinkers regularly announced that China\u003cbr\u003ewould adhere to a “no first use” policy, but very little\u003cbr\u003epublished military information was available about\u003cbr\u003ehow China intended to use its missile forces in crisis or\u003cbr\u003ewar.\u003cbr\u003eDr. Larry M. Wortzel’s monograph sheds new light\u003cbr\u003eon the operations, training, and doctrine of the Second\u003cbr\u003eArtillery Corps. The PLA is adding modernized mobile\u003cbr\u003emissile forces to the older silo-based strategic forces. At\u003cbr\u003ethe same time, China is experimenting with multiple\u003cbr\u003ereentry vehicles, maneuverable reentry vehicles,\u003cbr\u003eand other penetration aids or countermeasures on\u003cbr\u003eits warheads as measures to respond to potential\u003cbr\u003emissile defenses. A nation-wide network of redundant\u003cbr\u003ecommand and control systems is now deployed around\u003cbr\u003eChina to ensure retaliatory capabilities are available\u003cbr\u003eand responsive to the orders of the Chinese Communist\u003cbr\u003eParty’s Central Military Commission. The PLA has\u003cbr\u003egenerated new doctrine on how to integrate missile forces into its military campaigns at the operational\u003cbr\u003elevel of war while still maintaining the strategic nuclear\u003cbr\u003edeterrent.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, there are some worrisome aspects to this\u003cbr\u003emodernization. China has mixed nuclear, nuclearcapable,\u003cbr\u003eand conventionally armed missiles into its\u003cbr\u003etheater (or campaign)-level forces. It has worked to\u003cbr\u003eperfect ballistic missiles that can attack moving targets\u003cbr\u003eat sea. Moreover, it has integrated submarine-launched\u003cbr\u003eballistic missiles into its nuclear doctrine. Among\u003cbr\u003ecivilian strategists and military officers, a debate has\u003cbr\u003edeveloped about the viability of China’s “no-first-use”\u003cbr\u003epledges in the age of precision weapons and stealth\u003cbr\u003eattack. Additionally, the PLA is now publishing more\u003cbr\u003emilitary theoretical studies and doctrine on these\u003cbr\u003echanges and how to employ them, providing new\u003cbr\u003einformation on China’s capabilities, organization, and\u003cbr\u003ethreat perceptions.\u003cbr\u003eWe are pleased to present this monograph, which\u003cbr\u003eprovides new insights into why China’s leaders and\u003cbr\u003emilitary thinkers see the United States as a major\u003cbr\u003epotential threat to the PLA and China’s interests. The\u003cbr\u003emonograph also discusses the relationships between\u003cbr\u003econventional and nuclear ballistic units in war fighting\u003cbr\u003edoctrine. These are critical matters for the Army and\u003cbr\u003eour nation.","brand":"ReadCycle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47111668400368,"sku":"2940148761631","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148761631_p0.jpg?v=1763713933","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148761631","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}