In a first, India has deployed 12 nuclear warheads and its military stockpile of nuclear weapons has also increased in the year 2025, according to a recent report.
The report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states that countries are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of power. This is in stark contrast to the earlier years when efforts were being made to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons.
The SIPRI Yearbook 2026 states that the nine nuclear-armed states continued efforts to modernize and enhance their nuclear arsenals in the past year. The countries also deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems during this period.
India deploys nuclear weapons
For decades, India had been an outlier to the whole nuclear power game with almost no known incidents of warheads being deployed by it even in diverse situations.
However, this time the SIPRI Yearbook 2026 report claims India deployed 12 nuclear warheads in 2025. Moreover, the count of total warheads in its stockpile also jumped to 190 from 180 in the past.
The addition of 10 nuclear warheads suggests that India is working to modernize and increase its arsenal even though it maintains a calm posture.
It should also be noted that India’s adversaries such as Pakistan and China also possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s military stockpile has remained the same as the past year’s 170 mark, as per the report.
“China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country,” the report says. It also added that Beijing showcased several new nuclear systems during its 2025 military parade. It goes on to predict that China could potentially have at least as many ICBMs as either Russia or the USA by the turn of the decade.
Keeping these factors in mind, it can be assumed that China’s growing nuclear arsenal and the tense situation with Pakistan have contributed to India’s decision of deploying nuclear warheads.
Global nuclear stockpiles
Russia and the United States are still miles ahead when it comes to nuclear warheads tally.
Russia has an estimated 4,400 nuclear warheads in its military stockpile, while the US has 3,700 in its arsenal, the SIPRI report says.
The other nuclear-armed countries like the United Kingdom, and France don’t seem to have increased their arsenal in the past year. However, ambiguity remains over the arsenal strength of North Korea and Israel.
While North Korea’s arsenal seems to have grown to 60 nuclear warheads, Israel is believed to possess 90 in its armory.
This brings the total country of nuclear warheads in military stockpile globally to 9,745 which is an increase from the 9,614 mark in the past year, as per the report.
“Influential voices, including some world leaders, are advocating nuclear weapons as a guarantee against attack by a hostile state. But making national defence and security strategies dependent—or more dependent—on nuclear weapons could significantly increase nuclear risks,” said SIPRI Director Karim Haggag.
“The dangers associated with nuclear weapons are growing due to advances in weapon technology, the breakdown of nuclear arms control and heightened geopolitical tensions, among a range of other factors. At the same time, world events—not least the outbreak of conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan—are challenging nuclear deterrence logic.”
