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Nine nuclear-armed states, including the United States, Russia, France, China, India and Pakistan, are continuing to modernize their nuclear arsenals, with some of them expected to have new weapon systems by 2023, a Swedish think tank said on Monday. The ability to carry nuclear weapons is deployed. In an analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the number of Chinese nuclear weapons increased from 410 in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024 and is expected to continue to rise. According to the report, around 2,100 deployed warheads were in peak operational readiness against ballistic missiles, almost all of them Russian or American. However, according to the newspaper, for the first time China is believed to have a number of warheads on high alert. SIPRI notes that nine nuclear-armed states – the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals and several states have acquired new produced nuclear or nuclear-capable weapons. He said he was on his way. Of the estimated global inventory of 12,121 warheads as of January 2024, approximately 9,585 warheads remain in military stockpiles for possible use, the report said.

Of these, around 3,904 warheads are in use along with missiles and aircraft, 60 of which have been increased since January 2023, the rest are in the central warehouse. “Approximately 2,100 deployed warheads were in peak operational readiness against ballistic missiles. “Almost all of these were Russian or American, but for the first time China is believed to be at peak operational readiness,” the report said. According to the think tank, India, Pakistan and North Korea are all pursuing the ability to deploy multiple warheads on their ballistic missiles, as are Russia, France, Britain, the United States and, more recently, China. This could lead to a rapid increase in the number of warheads deployed, the report said, and force nuclear-armed states to threaten to destroy more targets. Cipri said that Russia and the United States together possess nearly 90 percent of all nuclear weapons. Although the size of both countries' military stockpiles appears to be relatively stable in 2023, Russia is estimated to have approximately 36 more warheads deployed in the force than in January 2023.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nuclear transparency has declined in both countries and debates over nuclear weapons sharing agreements have come to the fore. According to the report, as of January this year, India's nuclear weapons "stockpile" stood at 172, compared to Pakistan's at 170. India has slightly expanded its nuclear arsenal by 2023 and said India and Pakistan will continue to develop new types of nuclear weapon delivery systems. . in 2023. "While Pakistan remains at the center of India's nuclear deterrent, India appears to be placing greater emphasis on long-range weapons, including those capable of reaching targets in China," the report said. He says China could have intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) similar to those used by Russia or the United States earlier in the decade, depending on how China decides to build up its military. However, according to the report, China's nuclear arsenal is expected to be smaller than that of Russia and the United States. "China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country," said Hans Christensen, senior fellow in SIPRI's program on weapons of mass destruction and director of the nuclear information program at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). “But almost all nuclear-weapon states have plans or significant incentives to increase their nuclear capabilities,” Christensen said.