STOCKHOLM, June 15. /TASS/. All the nuclear weapon-possessing states are working to develop new nuclear weapon systems and/or upgrade their existing ones, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) wrote in its Yearbook 2015, which is launched on Monday.
- Moscow says US has to return non-strategic nuclear weapons to national territory
- Military analysts: West embarks on dangerous path of ruining nuclear deterrence
- Lawmaker: Moscow can answer possible deployment of US nuclear missiles in Europe
- Britain’s plans for hosting missiles with nuclear warheads fan tensions — Kremlin
- Russia successfully test-launches defense shield anti-missile — ministry
‘Despite renewed international interest in prioritizing nuclear disarmament, the modernization programs 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.
At 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 report gives approximate estimates, reading the US has 7,260 warheads (2,080 deployed and 5,720 other warheads), Russia - 7,500 (1,780 and 5,718), the United Kingdom - 215 (150 and 65), France - 300 (290 and 10), China - 260 (none deployed), India - 90-110 (none deployed), Pakistan - 100-120 (none deployed), Israel - 80 (none deployed). The Institute does not have data on the warheads in North Korea, but the estimate for early 2015 was about 6-8. "Deployed" means warheads placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces.