Chinese EMP Strikes Could Rapidly Disable US, Allied Forces in Conflict, Expert Says

A single hydrogen bomb detonated about 250 miles above the United States would generate an EMP covering the lower 48 states, a U.S. congressional report said.

Missiles that can carry nuclear and conventional warheads on parade in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2009. Feng Li/Getty Images

The Chinese regime could deploy nuclear warheads to cause electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks targeting U.S. military bases or allies in the Pacific, potentially securing a victory in a conflict by isolating those countries from U.S. support, according to retired Navy Capt. Carl Schuster, who served as a director of operations at the U.S. Navy Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.

But a limited deployment of such weapons—utilizing the intense electromagnetic pulse generated by nuclear explosions to knock out power grids and electronics across broad swaths of territory—could prove decisive should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pursue its geopolitical ambitions through military means.