According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), more and more nuclear warheads are being kept ready for use on missiles or aircraft. This is “extremely worrying”.
The number of nuclear weapons ready for use rose again last year. Warheads are being decommissioned and the number of nuclear weapons worldwide has been declining for decades, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute Sipri in its annual report published on Monday. At the same time, however, more and more warheads are being kept ready for use. The institute referred to data from January 2024 compared to January 2023.
According to Sipri, the number of nuclear weapons under development has also increased as states have increased their reliance on nuclear deterrence. Of the total global stockpile of an estimated 12,121 warheads in January 2024, around 9,585 were in military stockpiles for potential use. Around 3,904 of these warheads were mounted on missiles and aircraft – 60 more than in January 2023. The rest were in central storage facilities, according to the report.
The experts expect that the trend will continue and accelerate in the coming years, which is “extremely worrying”. According to Sipri, nine countries have nuclear weapons. The USA and Russia are the leaders. They have around 90 percent of all nuclear warheads. Great Britain ranks third, ahead of France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. For the first time, China is also said to be keeping some warheads on high alert.
Transparency regarding the nuclear forces of the two leading countries has decreased since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022, criticize the Sipri experts. “We have not seen nuclear weapons play such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War,” said Wilfred Wan, head of the Sipri Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.