{"id":24966,"date":"2020-06-14T22:01:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T22:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/14\/nuclear-modernization-speeding-up-as-arms-control-on-the-brink-report\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:08:48","slug":"nuclear-modernization-speeding-up-as-arms-control-on-the-brink-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/06\/14\/nuclear-modernization-speeding-up-as-arms-control-on-the-brink-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear modernization speeding up as arms control on the brink: report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Overall nuclear warheads in the world decreased in 2019, but broad modernization efforts by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/06\/08\/f-15e-becomes-first-aircraft-certified-for-new-nuclear-bomb-design\/\" target=_blank>biggest nuclear countries<\/a> \u2014 along with a degradation of arms control agreements around the world \u2014 could mean a dangerous mix for the future, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/2019\/06\/16\/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them\/\" target=_blank>annual report<\/a> from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The organization estimated that at the end of 2019, nine countries possessed a total of 13,400 nuclear warheads, down from the 13,865 estimated in SIPRI\u2019s previous report, which in turn was a drop from 14,465 the year before. The reductions were primarily due to numbers dropping under the New START nuclear agreement between Russia and the U.S., which experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/05\/24\/time-running-out-on-the-last-us-russia-nuclear-arms-treaty\/\" target=\"_blank\">largely expect<\/a> not to be renewed at the start of the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia is the largest holder of nuclear warheads, according to SIPRI\u2019s numbers, with 6,735 total, of which 1,570 are deployed. The U.S. follows at 5,800, with 1,750 deployed. The two countries account for over 90 percent of the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/02\/21\/the-navys-new-nuclear-cruise-missile-starts-getting-real-next-year\/\" target=\"_blank\">nuclear arsenal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/05\/12\/three-british-nuclear-programs-are-167-billion-over-budget\/\" target=_blank>United Kingdom<\/a> (250 total, 120 deployed) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/06\/12\/frances-le-temeraire-nuclear-submarine-passes-test-to-fire-atomic-missiles\/\" target=_blank>France <\/a>(290 total, 280 deployed) are the other two nations believed to have deployed nuclear warheads. China (320 total), India (150 total), Pakistan (160 total), Israel (90 total) and North Korea, (30-40 total) round out SIPRI\u2019s list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the U.S. and Russia are engaged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2020\/02\/10\/trump-budget-requests-46-billion-for-nuclear-weapons-programs\/\">in expensive<\/a>, widespread modernization efforts of its nuclear arsenal. America is upgrading both its legacy nuclear warheads with new designs, as well as updating its fleet of nuclear-capable bombers, submarines and ICBMs. Earlier this year, the Pentagon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/02\/04\/trumps-new-nuclear-weapon-has-been-deployed\/\">deployed for the first time<\/a> the W76-2, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/01\/28\/trumps-new-nuclear-weapon-has-entered-production\/\">low-yield variant<\/a> of the nuclear warhead traditionally used on the Trident submarine launched missile, and early design work is being done on another new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2020\/02\/24\/inside-americas-newly-revealed-nuclear-ballistic-missile-warhead-of-the-future\/\">submarine launched warhead design<\/a>, known as the W93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"814\" height=\"440\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sipri_nukes.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sipri_nukes.JPG.jpg 814w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sipri_nukes.JPG.jpg?resize=300,162 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sipri_nukes.JPG.jpg?resize=768,415 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A chart from SIPRI shows the number of nuclear weapons in the world. (SIPRI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia, meanwhile, has spoken openly about developing hypersonic weapons that could be nuclear equipped and has invested in novel weapons such as the Status-6, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/01\/12\/russias-nuclear-underwater-drone-is-real-and-in-the-nuclear-posture-review\/\">an underwater drone<\/a> that could be equipped with a nuclear warhead. Moscow has also vocalized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nuclear-arsenal\/2019\/02\/06\/russia-bids-farewell-to-inf-treaty-with-fresh-nuclear-development-plans\/\">new deployment plans<\/a> for its weapons and on June 2 made official a policy that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/06\/02\/new-russian-policy-allows-use-of-atomic-weapons-against-non-nuclear-strike\/\">it may use nuclear weapons<\/a> in response to a conventional attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those investments by the world\u2019s two nuclear superpowers come against a backdrop of the collapse of numerous arms control agreements. 2019 saw the formal end of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2019\/08\/06\/new-pentagon-chief-reveals-plans-for-pacific-based-missiles-is-capitol-hill-on-board\/\">Intermediate \u00adRange and Shorter \u00adRange Missiles<\/a> (INF) treaty, and in May the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/05\/21\/trump-admin-to-withdraw-from-open-skies-treaty\/\">the Open Skies arms control verification<\/a> agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The last major arms control agreement between Russia and the U.S. is New START, which is set to expire in February of 2021. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/2020\/05\/21\/us-russia-new-start-talks-starting-says-envoy\/\">recent weeks<\/a> the U.S. has announced its intention to start negotiations on a new arms control agreement that would include China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Chinese officials have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2020\/02\/26\/arms-control-decisions-by-trump-administration-could-be-imminent-will-china-be-involved\/\">repeatedly and categorically denied<\/a> that it would be willing to join such an agreement, and experts largely view any efforts to create a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/asia-pacific\/2020\/06\/05\/china-could-lose-95-of-ballistic-cruise-missiles-under-strategic-arms-control-pact-says-new-analysis\/\" target=_blank>trilateral nuclear arms control<\/a> pact as a New START replacement are non-starters, leading to widespread agreement among analyst that New START is likely doomed under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe deadlock over New START and the collapse of the 1987 Soviet\u2013US Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate \u00adRange and Shorter \u00adRange Missiles (INF) Treaty in 2019 suggest that the era of bilateral nuclear arms control agreements between Russia and the USA might be coming to an end,\u201d said Shannon Kile, Director of SIPRI\u2019s nuclear disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe loss of key channels of communication between Russia and the USA that were intended to promote transparency and prevent misperceptions about their respective nuclear force postures and capabilities could potentially lead to a new nuclear arms race.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An annual report by SIPRI comes as nuclear modernization is kicking into high 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By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nuclear modernization speeding up as arms control on the brink: report - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An annual report by SIPRI comes as nuclear modernization is kicking into high gear\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nuclear modernization speeding up as arms control on the brink: report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An annual report by SIPRI comes as nuclear modernization is kicking into high gear\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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