Overview

• Satellite images from May 19 show two modernized H-6 bombers deployed to Woody Island for the first time in five years
• The upgraded bombers can carry hypersonic and nuclear-capable missiles, boosting China’s long-range strike potential
• Woody Island’s expanded air base features 20 aircraft hangars built on reclaimed land under PLA control
• USS Nimitz has reentered the South China Sea to uphold freedom of navigation as tensions with China rise
• The deployment comes ahead of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which China’s defense minister will skip, and follows reports of an incoming British carrier