Defence watchdog notes rise in India’s nuclear weapons stockpile
New Delhi, June 08: India has increased its nuclear weapons stockpile compared to last year. India’s nuclear bombs have increased from 180 to 190 this year, while neighboring Pakistan’s nuclear capability has remained unchanged at 170 warheads. This means that India has strategically surpassed Pakistan in terms of nuclear weapons. Currently, nine countries in the world possess a total of 12,187 nuclear weapons, of which approximately 9,745 warheads are kept ready for potential use in military stockpiles. Of these, approximately 4,012 warheads have been actively deployed on missiles and fighter aircraft.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a global defense watchdog, has released its annual yearbook. Changing warfare methods and military modernization have led to a global arms race. The report on international arms transfers, published on Monday, states that decades of international efforts to reduce the number and impact of nuclear weapons appear to be completely reversed. Russia and the United States remain at the forefront of the nuclear arms race.
The report reveals that the nine nuclear-armed countries worldwide possessed a total of 12,187 nuclear bombs as of January this year, compared to 12,241 in 2025. While it may be said that there has been a slight decline in the total number of nuclear bombs, experts consider this misleading. The report also states that approximately 2,100 to 2,200 nuclear warheads worldwide are on “high operational alert,” meaning they can be fired within minutes. Russia and America have the most weapons in this category.
In terms of nuclear weapons, Russia is currently the world’s largest nuclear power country, with a total of 5420 warheads. America is at second place in this list with 5,042 warheads. India’s neighboring country China is also rapidly increasing its nuclear weapons, as its number of nuclear bombs has increased from 600 to 620. France has surprised the most in this annual report of SIPRI, because within a year the number of nuclear bombs possessed by it has increased by 80. Compared to last year, France has directly increased its nuclear stockpile from 290 to 370 warheads.
In contrast, the United Kingdom (UK) has maintained its strategic capability, currently possessing 225 warheads. Despite the war with Iran in West Asia, Israel has not increased its nuclear stockpile and still possessed 90 warheads as of last year. North Korea is also continuously developing lethal weapons, increasing its nuclear stockpile from 50 to 60 warheads. This report shows that many countries around the world are once again increasing their dependence on nuclear weapons
