The Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute (SIPRI) pegged the variety of nuclear warheads within the Indian arsenal at 180 as of January 2025, in comparison with 172 a 12 months earlier, whereas Pakistan is estimated to have 170 nuclear weapons, the identical as final 12 months.
The Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute (SIPRI) in a brand new yearbook launched on Monday stated that India has extra nuclear weapons than Pakistan, however Beijing’s strategic arsenal is larger than the Indian arsenal. SIPRI additionally pegged the variety of nuclear warheads within the Indian arsenal at 180 as of January 2025, in comparison with 172 a 12 months earlier, whereas Pakistan is estimated to have 170 nuclear weapons, the identical as final 12 months. It added that China’s arsenal consisted of 600 nuclear warheads in January 2025, up from 500 final 12 months.
As per the SIPRI report, India’s new ‘canisterised’ missiles, which permit warheads to be pre-mounted and transported extra safely, may probably carry nuclear warheads even throughout “peacetime”.
The report stated these next-generation programs might also be capable of ship a number of warheads utilizing a single missile within the close to future.
“India is believed to have as soon as once more barely expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2024 and continued to develop new sorts of nuclear supply programs. India’s new ‘canisterized’ missiles, which could be transported with mated warheads, could also be able to carrying nuclear warheads throughout peacetime, and probably even a number of warheads on every missile, as soon as they develop into operational,” the SIPRI report stated.
Among the many latest of India’s next-generation supply platforms are the Agni Prime (Agni-P) missile and the A number of Independently Targetable Re-entry Automobile (MIRV)-capable Agni-5 system.
Know what number of nuclear warheads Pakistan and China have
The SIPRI report stated that whereas Pakistan is estimated to have 170 nuclear weapons, China’s arsenal consisted of 600 nuclear warheads in January 2025, up from 500 final 12 months.
SIPRI said that China’s nuclear arsenal is rising sooner than every other nation’s, by about 100 new warheads a 12 months since 2023.
“By January 2025, China had accomplished or was near finishing round 350 new ICBM silos in three massive desert fields within the north of the nation and three mountainous areas within the east. Relying on the way it decides to construction its forces, China may probably have not less than as many ICBMs as both Russia or the USA by the flip of the last decade. But even when China reaches the utmost projected variety of 1,500 warheads by 2035, that can nonetheless quantity to solely about one third of every of the present Russian and US nuclear stockpiles,” the report stated.
Russia and the US collectively possess 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons
The SIPRI report stated Russia and the USA collectively possess round 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons, and the sizes of their respective navy stockpiles appear to have stayed comparatively steady in 2024, however each states are implementing intensive modernisation programmes that would enhance the dimensions and variety of their arsenals sooner or later.
“If no new settlement is reached to cap their stockpiles, the variety of warheads they deploy on strategic missiles appears more likely to enhance after the bilateral 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Additional Discount and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) expires in February 2026,” the report added.
What SIPRI stated on latest India-Pakistan battle
Referring to a latest India-Pakistan navy battle, SIPRI raised severe considerations concerning the dangers of escalation throughout standard conflicts between nuclear-armed neighbours. Affiliate
Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Affiliate Director for the Nuclear Info Undertaking at FAS, Matt Korda, warned: “The mix of strikes on nuclear-related navy infrastructure and third-party disinformation risked turning a traditional battle right into a nuclear disaster.”
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