After several public references to the weapons in 2017, the Department of Defense confirmed in its annual report to Congress that China is developing two new air-launched ballistic missiles. Having previously announced in 2018 that China had reassigned its air force with a nuclear mission, the Pentagon ended speculation over what weapons would comprise the renewed air-based leg of China’s nuclear “triad,” where nuclear weapons could be launched from land, sea, or air platforms. One weapon, identified as the CH-AS-X , was first tested in December 2016.

