Russian Nuclear Forces, 2010

Nuclear Notebook: How many nuclear bombs does Russia have?

The landmark Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and Russia expired on December 5, 2009. Negotiations are in the final phase on a follow-on treaty intended to reduce deployed strategic warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 and strategic launchers to between 500 and 1,100. When the follow-on treaty is signed, it will enter into force after ratification by the Russian Duma and U.S. Senate.

Although the follow-on treaty will further reduce Moscow’s strategic forces, strategic nuclear force modernization is still a priority in Russia. In a November 2009 speech to the Federal Assembly, President Dmitry Medvedev said that in 2010 the Russian military would receive “more than 30 ballistic land- and sea-based missiles” and three nuclear submarines…

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The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists and Robert S. Norris, a senior fellow with the FAS. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987. The Nuclear Notebook column has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1987.