Nuclear weapons owned by the United States have been deployed in Europe since the mid-1950s, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized their storage at allied North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bases on the continent for use against the Soviet Union. Though NATO officially declares itself a “nuclear alliance,” it does not own any nuclear weapons. […]
Fact Sheet: U.S. Plutonium Pit Production
Updated November 20, 2024 Plutonium pits are a critical component of all U.S. nuclear weapons. The pit acts as a trigger: on detonation, the plutonium sets off a small nuclear reaction, creating a larger secondary explosion in the main nuclear payload. The United States produced between 1,000 and 2,000 pits per year during the Cold […]
China Is Still Not the New Soviet Union: Top U.S. Military Leaders Affirm U.S. Lead Over China
By John Isaacs There is a rising clamor in Washington, D.C., appealing for a substantial increase in the U.S. military budget to confront a resurgent China. However, despite China’s military buildup, the United States will maintain a substantial lead in key capacities, such as nuclear weapons, combat aircraft and aircraft carriers (see chart below). The China […]
Fact Sheet: Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles
Updated June 2024 Despite the Biden administration’s previous decision not to pursue the development of a new nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and its associated warhead, the W80-4 ALT, due to cost and strategic considerations, Congress provided funding for the continuation of the SLCM-N program in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act. In FY23 budget […]
World Nuclear Inventories
Updated June 17, 2024 There are nine nuclear-armed countries worldwide with about 12,000 nuclear weapons between them. The United States and Russia together have more than 90 percent of those weapons.
