Skip to main content

Number of nuclear weapons held by major powers rising, says thinktank

There are now an estimated 12,512 warheads across the globe, with most of the new ones in military stockpiles said to be China’s 

by Daniel Boffey 

The number of operational nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the major military powers is on the rise again according to a leading thinktank, whose analysts warn the world is “drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human history”.

At a time of both deteriorating international relations and the escalation of nuclear sabre-rattling, there are now said to be an estimated 12,512 warheads globally, of which 9,576 are in military stockpiles ready for potential use, up 86 on a year ago.

The rise brings to an end the period of gradual decline that followed the end of the cold war. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) suggested 60 of the new warheads were held by China.

The other new weapons are attributed to Russia (12), Pakistan (five), North Korea (five) and India (four).

The increase in battle-fit warheads comes despite a statement in 2021 from the UN’s five permanent security council members – the US, Russia, China, the UK and France – that “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”.

Russia and the US together possess almost 90% of all the nuclear weapons globally. In addition to their usable nuclear weapons, the two powers each hold more than 1,000 warheads previously retired from military service, which they are gradually dismantling.

Of the total of 12,512 warheads in the world, which includes those that are retired and awaiting dismantlement, Sipri estimates that 3,844 are deployed with missiles and aircraft.

Around 2,000 of those – nearly all of which belong to Russia or the US – are kept in a state of high operational alert, meaning that they are fitted to missiles or held at airbases hosting nuclear bombers.

Sipri notes, however, that the full picture is difficult to judge as a number of countries, including Russia, the US and the UK, have reduced their level of transparency since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

China, the world’s third biggest nuclear power, is believed to have increased its number of warheads from 350 in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023. That arsenal is expected to keep growing but Sipri predicts it they will not surpass the arsenals of the US and Russia.

The report adds that China has never declared the size of its nuclear arsenal and that many of its assessments rely on data from the US Department of Defense (DOD).

In 2021, commercial satellite imagery revealed that China had started construction of hundreds of new missile silos across the north of its territory.

Hans M Kristensen, an associate senior fellow with Sipri’s weapons of mass destruction programme, said: “China has started a significant expansion of its nuclear arsenal. It is increasingly difficult to square this trend with China’s declared aim of having only the minimum nuclear forces needed to maintain its national security.

France (290) and the UK (225) are the world’s next largest nuclear powers and British operational arsenal is expected to grow further following an announcement two years ago that it was raising its limit from 225 to 260 warheads.

Of the 225 UK warheads, 120 of are said to be operationally available for delivery by Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), with about 40 being carried on a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) that is on patrol at all times.

The UK government has said, however, that it will no longer publicly disclose its quantities of nuclear weapons, deployed warheads or deployed missiles amid increased global tensions.

The new British policy is just one sign of a breakdown in cooperation over the future of nuclear weapons.

The US suspended its bilateral strategic stability dialogue with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin announced it was suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty limiting the strategic nuclear forces of the two cold war foes.

Meanwhile, Russia’s government has increasingly spoken of the risk of nuclear war since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Putin has said that he has put Russia’s nuclear deterrent on high alert.

He also said in the immediate wake of his invasion that the consequences for those who stood in his country’s way would be “such as you have never seen in your entire history”.

Since then, Nato’s arming of Ukraine’s military has provoked a constant stream of nuclear threats from figures close to the Kremlin.

Dan Smith, a director at Sipri, said: “We are drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human history. It is imperative that the world’s governments find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions, slow arms races and deal with the worsening consequences of environmental breakdown and rising world hunger.

Source, links:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Israel Is Routinely Shooting Children in the Head in Gaza: U.S. Surgeon & Palestinian Nurse

Democracy Now!  As the official death toll in Gaza passes more than 42,400, the true number may be impossible to know until Israel's war is over. But medical workers who witnessed the carnage in Gaza's hospitals are speaking out.    Democracy Now! spoke with Dr. Feroze Sidhwa about his op-ed in The New York Times that features harrowing stories from dozens of healthcare workers and CT scans of children shot in the head or the left side of the chest. The Times called the corresponding images of the patients too graphic to publish.    " I personally wish that Americans could see more of what it looks like when a child is shot in the head, when a child is flayed open by bombs, " says Sidhwa. " I think it would make us think a little bit more about what we do in the world. "    Democracy Now! also spoke with Palestinian nurse Rajaa Musleh, who worked at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. " I will never forget the dogs were eating the dead body inside Shifa

Israel Bombs & Invades Lebanon While US Pushes Regime Change & Civil War. Will it Work?

BreakThrough News   As Israel unleashes a catastrophic war on Lebanon, many are perplexed by the country’s politics, divisions and potential for civil war. To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Lebanese medical doctor and public health researcher Anis Germani. 

Genocide Day 376: The Plan Is To Mass Starve The People In Gaza & It’s Already Being Implemented!

The Jimmy Dore Show   According to mainstream outlets like the Associated Press and Haaretz , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to eject all Palestinian civilians from northern Gaza and starve out any who choose to remain. In fact it’s quite likely that the IDF is already undertaking the plan, which explains why Israel is actively bombing aid trucks trying to enter Gaza.   Related:    U.N. Experts Accuse Israel of "Starvation Campaign" in Gaza & Demand End to Western Complicity

How Israel Squashes Dissent & Independent Reporting

Glenn Greenwald  

Israeli & U.S. DELIBERATE LIES DEBUNKED

Glenn Greenwald 

Israel Launches War On Lebanon & Kills Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah - What Next?

BreakThrough News   Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and carpet bombing attacks on Lebanon have shocked the region and the world. What comes next?   

The US’s Long History of Destabilizing Iran

Kamala Harris recently called Iran a “destabilizing, dangerous force” in the Middle East. The appropriate context for understanding this remark is the US’s own decades-long history of destabilizing Iran.   by Seraj Assi    Part 3 - Just the Beginning In the name of fighting Communism, the United States helped sabotage a thriving democracy in the Middle East. To cite American historian Douglas Little: “ Having convinced themselves that Iran was about to fall to communism, Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers had encouraged pro-American forces to overthrow a democratically elected Iranian leader and place an increasingly autocratic ruler back on the Peacock Throne. ” The 1953 coup, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d’état, was a prelude to a long history of US covert regime change operations against democratically elected leaders across the Global South. Two decades later, in Chile, the United States infamously conspired to overthrow the elected socialist president Salvador Allende, hel

Hillary & Dems Fear LOSING TOTAL CONTROL Online

Glenn Greenwald     Related:  A unique moment where the establishment admits that is losing control over the narratives!

One year of uninterrupted genocide of the Palestinian people by the Zionazis

globinfo freexchange   This is only a small sample of the unimaginable slaughter and barbarism, produced by the Zionist pigs, against Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank. Always with the support of the morally bankrupt West . Gazan children are being torn into pieces. pic.twitter.com/ns0BJB8OyZ — TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 4, 2024 Pulled from under the rubble, covered in grief and dust; civil defence teams manage to evacuate some survivors following a deadly lsraeli airstrike on northern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/Gi6QXUU2Jr — TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 1, 2024 Scenes from the school which was bombed by lsraeli warplanes a while ago in northern Gaza Strip. Most of the casualties are women and children who were torn into pieces. pic.twitter.com/vHJTfbdWIG — TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) September 29, 2024 Israel bombed a church in #Gaza killing Palestinian christians. Never forgive. Never forget. pic.twitter.com/fMSEA0eSDp — Syrian Girl 🇸🇾 (@Parti

Netanyahu Blocked Every Hostage Deal - Says Israeli Newspaper!

The Jimmy Dore Show   The standard response from Zionists to criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza is to say, “Then Hamas should just release the hostages.” Except the idea that Israel is eager to get the hostages back is undermined by Prime Minister himself, Benjamin Netanyahu, who even Israeli newspapers are acknowledging has undermined any possible deal to bring back the hostages at every step.