• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

  • Policy Issues
    • Fact Sheets
    • Countries
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Non-Proliferation
    • Nuclear Security
    • Biological & Chemical Weapons
    • Defense Spending
    • Missile Defense
    • No First Use
  • Nukes of Hazard
    • Podcast
    • Blog
      • Next Up In Arms Control
    • Videos
  • Join Us
  • Press
  • About
    • Staff
    • Boards & Experts
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Financials and Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Search
You are here: Home / Issue Center / Fact Sheet: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Total Inventory

May 19, 2017

Fact Sheet: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Total Inventory

The size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal has decreased drastically since it peaked at 31,255 nuclear weapons in 1967. Many of the reductions since then have come as the result of bilateral arms control agreements with Russia, including the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) I, which capped deployed arsenals at 6,000 warheads and 1,600 delivery vehicles; the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which reduced deployed arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads each; and the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which reduces deployed arsenals to 1,550 warheads on 700 delivery systems.

As the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal has decreased, so has the pace of reductions. The slowing rate can be attributed both to some political opposition to nuclear reductions and the technological difficulty of verifying nuclear reductions at lower numbers. Despite these difficulties, further reductions are both possible and necessary. 

 

CHART: U.S. Nuclear Weapons Inventory (as of January 2017)
Deployed Strategic Warheads   1,367
Remaining Active Stockpile

Deployed Tactical Warheads

 Non-deployed Strategic Warheads

Total Active Stockpile

Retired Warheads

Total

2,651

<200

~2,451

4,018

~2,800

~6,800

Source: U.S. Department of State


To learn more about global nuclear weapons inventories, refer to our Global Nuclear Weapons Inventories Fact Sheet.

Last Updated: March 2017

 

 

 

Posted in: Factsheets & Analysis on Nuclear Weapons, Issue Center, Nuclear Weapons, United States

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Axios Future of Defense July 16, 2025
  • We should observe July 16 but celebrate July 17 July 16, 2025
  • The Korean Peninsula Has Seen Grand Overtures Come and Go – What Matters Now is Whether Small Steps Can Still Lead Somewhere July 9, 2025
  • Israeli nuclear weapons at the heart of a strategic taboo July 4, 2025
  • Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Budget Request Briefing Book July 3, 2025

Footer

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: 202.546.0795

Issues

  • Fact Sheets
  • Countries
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Non-Proliferation
  • Nuclear Security
  • Defense Spending
  • Biological and Chemical Weapons
  • Missile Defense
  • No First Use

Countries

  • China
  • France
  • India and Pakistan
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • North Korea
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom

Explore

  • Nukes of Hazard blog
  • Nukes of Hazard podcast
  • Nukes of Hazard videos
  • Front and Center
  • Fact Sheets

About

  • About
  • Meet the Staff
  • Boards & Experts
  • Press
  • Jobs & Internships
  • Financials and Annual Reports
  • Contact Us
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2025 Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Privacy Policy

Charity Navigator GuideStar Seal of Transparency