World nuclear forces—reductions and modernization continueAt the start of 2015, nine states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea)—possessed approximately 15 850 nuclear weapons, of which 4300 were deployed with operational forces. Roughly 1800 of these weapons were kept in a state of high operational alert. The total number of nuclear warheads in the world is declining, primarily due to the USA and Russia continuing to reduce their nuclear arsenals, albeit at slower pace compared with a decade ago. At the same time, both countries have extensive and expensive long-term modernization programmes under way for their remaining nuclear delivery systems, warheads and production. The nuclear arsenals of the other nuclear-armed states are considerably smaller, but all are either developing or deploying new nuclear weapon systems or have announced their intention to do so. In the case of China, this may involve a modest increase in the size of its nuclear arsenal. India and Pakistan are both expanding their nuclear weapon production capabilities and developing new missile delivery systems. North Korea appears to be advancing its military nuclear programme, but its technical progress is difficult to assess based on open sources. ‘Despite renewed international interest in prioritizing nuclear disarmament, the modernization programmes under way in the nuclear weapon-possessing states suggests that none of them will give up their nuclear arsenals in the foreseeable future’, says SIPRI Senior Researcher Shannon Kile. World nuclear forces, 2015
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Country |
Deployed warheads* |
Other warheads |
Total 2015 |
Total 2014 |
|
USA |
2080 |
5180 |
7260 |
7300 |
|
Russia |
1780 |
5720 |
7500 |
8000 |
|
UK |
150 |
65 |
215 |
225 |
|
France |
290 |
10 |
300 |
300 |
|
China |
|
260 |
260 |
250 |
|
India |
|
90-110 |
90-110 |
90-110 |
|
Pakistan |
|
100-120 |
100-120 |
100-120 |
|
Israel |
|
80 |
80 |
80 |
|
North Korea |
.. |
.. |
6-8 |
6-8 |
|
Total |
4300 |
11 545 |
15 850 |
16 350 |
|
Source: SIPRI Yearbook 2015 | ||||
* “Deployed” means warheads placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces.
http://www./media/pressreleases/2015/yb-june-2015
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