Us nuclear stockpile 1983 to 20131/6/2024 The Trump administration’s brief increase of the stockpile is only the second time the United States has increased its number of nuclear warheads since the Cold War. It is possible (but unconfirmed) that the 20-warhead stockpile increase between 20 was caused by production of the Trump administration’s W76-2 low-yield Trident warhead. Arkin and Kristensen reported in January 2020 that the first W76-2s had been deployed, which was later confirmed by the Pentagon. The first W76-2 was produced in February 2019, NNSA was scheduled to deliver all the warheads by end of Fiscal Year 2019, but the W76-2 wasn’t completed until June 2020. The increase is not explained but one possibility is that it reflects the production of the new W76-2 low-yield warhead that the Trump administration rushed into production in response to what it said was Russia’s plans for first-use of tactical nuclear weapons. The trend is that the reduction is decreasing and leveling out.Ī peculiar revelation in the new data is that it shows that the stockpile increased by 20 warheads between September 2018 and September 2019 when Trump was in office. Since 2008 the reduction has been slow and limited. In its announcement about the new stockpile numbers, the US Department of State highlights that the current stockpile of 3,750 warheads “represents an approximate 88 percent reduction in the stockpile from its maximum (31,255) at the end of fiscal year 1967, and an approximate 83 percent reduction from its level (22,217) when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989.” While that is true and an amazing accomplishment, the fact remains that the vast majority of that reduction happened in two phases during the H.W. That reduction is by any measure mediocre. The 3,750-warhead number is only 72 warheads fewer than in September 2017, the last number made available before the Trump administration closed the books. That number is only 50 warheads less than our estimate of 3,800 warheads from early this year. We have still not received an official response.Īlthough a victory for nuclear transparency, the data shows only very limited nuclear weapons reductions in recent years – a stark reminder of the international nuclear climate, domestic policies, and that a lot more work is needed to reduce nuclear dangers.Īccording to the new data, the United States possessed a total of 3,750 nuclear warheads in the Department of Defense nuclear weapons stockpile as of September 2020. The act reverses the secrecy of the Trump administration, which denied release of the number for three years, and restores the nuclear transparency of the Obama administration.įAS’ Steve Aftergood asked for this information in March 2021. The Biden administration yesterday afternoon declassified the number of nuclear weapons the United States possesses.
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