China Will Soon Surpass France as the World’s Third-Largest Nuclear Armed State Since 1987, the Bulletin’s Nuclear Notebook column has revealed surprise nuclear activity and spot-on arsenal estimates around the world. Researched and compiled by Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists, the Nuclear Notebook is a critical resource for scholars, activists, and … Continued

Despite its political instability, Pakistan continues to steadily expand its nuclear capabilities and competencies; in fact, it has the world's fastest-growing nuclear stockpile. In the aftermath of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, who had made his hideout in an Islamabad suburb, concerns about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons are likely to keep pace with the growth of Pakistan's arsenal. Pakistan is building two new plutonium production reactors and a new reprocessing facility with which it will be able to fabricate more nuclear weapons fuel.

Nuclear Notebook: How many nuclear weapons are deployed worldwide? As of the end of 2009, we estimate that there are approximately 23,360 nuclear weapons located at some 111 sites in 14 countries. Nearly one-half of these weapons are active or operationally deployed. By far the largest concentrations of nuclear weapons reside in Russia and the … Continued

In the world of nuclear policy wonking, Tuesday belonged to Matt Korda, a research associate for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (and a co-author of the Nuclear Notebook column that the Bulletin has published since 1987). In his essay for Inkstick, “At #NUKEFEST, we asked all the wrong questions,” Korda asserted that last week’s Carnegie Nuclear Policy Conference had failed to address the “single most important issue within the nuclear field—the health and sustainability of the field itself.”

The US nuclear arsenal remained roughly unchanged in the last year, with the Defense Department maintaining an estimated stockpile of approximately 3,800 warheads. Of these, only 1,750 warheads are deployed.

According to the latest Missile Defense Review, the United States will continue to enhance its four primary missile defense systems without “any limitation or constraint.” Doing so is likely to be destabilizing.

A review of France's nuclear arsenal 2019: France's stockpile of approximately 300 nuclear warheads has remained stable in recent years, but significant modernizations are underway with regard to ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, submarines, aircraft, and the nuclear industrial complex.

India is estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced only 130 to 140. Free-access.

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The authors estimate that the country’s stockpile could realistically grow to 220 to 250 warheads by 2025, if the current trend continues.