~28,800: The total number of intact nuclear warheads retained by the United States and Russia.

~30,000: Number of intact nuclear warheads throughout the world. 17,500 of these are considered operational.

128,000+: Estimated number of nuclear warheads built worldwide since 1945. All but 2 percent of these nuclear warheads have been built by the United States (55 percent or 70,000+) and Russia (43 percent or 55,000+).  ¹  

10,729: Total number of intact U.S. nuclear warheads (274 warheads are awaiting dismantlement)

10,455: Total warheads in the U.S. stockpile

7,000: Approximate number of operational strategic U.S. nuclear weapons

~5,000: Component parts ("strategic reserve" or plutonium pits) in U.S. nuclear arsenal

1,600: Approximate number of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons (~800 of these are operational)

8,400: Total number of operational nuclear warheads in Russian arsenal

5,000: Approximate number of Russian strategic nuclear weapons

3,400: Approximate number of operational Russian tactical nuclear weapons (total tactical arsenal said to comprise as many as 10,000+ weapons)

3,500: Approximate number of strategic U.S. nuclear weapons, year 2003 under START II.

3,000: Approximate number of strategic Russian nuclear weapons, year 2003 under START II.

1,500-2,000: Approximate number of strategic nuclear weapons suggested as the ceiling for the United States and Russia under START III agreement.

1,700-2,200: Maximum number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons that will remain in the U.S. and Russian arsenals by 2012 as agreed to by The Treaty of Moscow (also known as SORT) signed by U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2002.

10,000: The number of warheads the United States will retain in 2012 (essentially the same number as today) if the reductions laid out in the Treaty of Moscow are completed by transferring warheads from active delivery vehicles to either a "responsive force" or to "inactive reserve." The active force will consist of approximately 3,500 warheads. (500 ICBM+ 1,680 SLBM + 1,376 bomber)

$3.5 trillion: Amount the United States spent between 1940 and 1995 to prepare to fight a nuclear war.

$27 billion: Amount the United States spends annually to prepare to fight a nuclear war.

$2.2 billion: Cost for one B-2 bomber (21 were authorized by Congress).

$2.5 billion: The lifecycle cost of each B-2 (RDT&E, procurement, operations, maintenance, and support).

The figures cited above were gathered with the aid of resources from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) website. www.nrdc.org

 
End Note

¹  Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristesen, "NRDC Nuclear Notebook: Global Nuclear Stockpiles, 1945-2002," The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November/December 2002.

Printer-Friendly Version

 

BACK TO THE TOP    NUCLEAR ISSUES    CDI ISSUE AREAS    CDI HOME