27 January 2015

NDU Publishes China Strategic Perspectives Monograph by Jonathan Ray: “Red China’s ‘Capitalist Bomb’: Inside the Chinese Neutron Bomb Program”

Jonathan Ray, Red China’s “Capitalist Bomb”: Inside the Chinese Neutron Bomb Program, China Strategic Perspective 8 (Washington, DC: National Defense University, January 2015).

Ray examines why China developed and tested an enhanced radiation weapon (ERW) but did not deploy it. He uses primary source documents to reconstruct the ERW program’s history, assesses drivers behind decisions throughout the program, and considers broader implications for PRC decision making on weapons development. He concludes that the ERW coalition’s rise and fall, the “principles” approach employed by the weaponeers, and the final decision to added the ERW to China’s ‘technology reserve” present plausible explanations to key questions.  Ray also considers how the “technology reserve” model might apply to China’s decision-making on current ballistic missile defense (BMD), antisatellite (ASAT), and hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) programs.

Ray, a former Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs (CSCMA) Contract Researcher, will give a talk at National Defense University as part of the WMD Center’s spotlight series on Tuesday 17 February from 12:30-2PM. Please RSVP to Nima Gerami at Nima.Gerami@ndu.edu or 202-433-6369.