Nuclear Weapons Facts and Figures 2006
• U.S. stockpile: As of July, 2006, approximately 5,735 operational nuclear warheads are in the U.S. “active” stockpile. About 4,300 additional warheads are retained in the "responsive reserve force" or in an inactive status with their tritium removed.
• World stockpile: Approximately 27,000 total nuclear weapons worldwide in 2006, of which 97% are in U.S. and Russian stockpiles.
• Estimated number of warheads: United States -- 10,104; Russia -- 16,000; People's Republic of China -- 200; France -- 350; United Kingdom -– 200; Israel –- 60; India -- 50; Pakistan -– 40; North Korea - 10
• Nuclear weapon tests: The US has conducted 1030 nuclear weapon tests, ending in 1992. Since 1945, there have been 2058 tests worldwide, 528 of them atmospheric (above-ground).
• Hiroshima: The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 killed over 137,000 people. Estimated yield of the Hiroshima bomb: 16 kilotons.
• Misplaced resources: United States spending on the current nuclear arsenal plus research is $35 billion per year (nearly 100 million dollars per day). Since 1940, the United States has spent $5.8 trillion on nuclear weapons programs, more than on any other single program except Social Security, according to the Brookings Institute’s Atomic Audit.
• Disarmament: The United States signed and ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968; the NPT went into effect in 1970. Article VI of the NPT states that each signatory state commits to pursue “general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was signed by the United States on September 24, 1996. Signatories to the CTBT pledge to refrain from explosive nuclear weapons tests of any yield, and the treaty establishes a robust verification regime including seismic monitoring and on-site inspections. To enter into force, the CTBT must be ratified by 44 “nuclear-capable” nations including the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, Israel, Japan, India, Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea. 82% of Washington state voters support US ratification of the CTBT, according to a June, 1999 poll. Although President Clinton was the first head of state to sign the CTBT, the United States Senate voted to reject ratification of the CTBT on October 13, 1999. Nevertheless, as of July, 2006, the CTBT has been signed by 176 nations and ratified by 134, including 34 of the 44 “nuclear-capable” nations. One hundred seismic monitoring stations are reporting data to the CTBT International Monitoring System.
• Trident submarines based at Bangor: Eight Trident submarines are based at the Bangor Submarine Base on the Hood Canal in Washington. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates 1,600 nuclear weapons are kept at Bangor. Each Trident sub based at Bangor carries 24 Trident missiles, 8 warheads each, for a total of 192 warheads per submarine. Six of the Trident subs based at Bangor carry the newer Trident II “D-5” missiles fitted with 475 kiloton warheads. Each warhead is equivalent to 475,000 tons of TNT, or 28 times as powerful as the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. An “upgrade” of the last two subs, the USS Henry M. Jackson and USS Alabama to carry the D-5 missile is now underway.
Sources: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, www.thebulletin.org; Arms Control Association www.armscontrol.org; PSR/National www.psr.org; Brookings Institute www.brook.edu ; Natural Resources Defense Council www.nrdc.org; CTB Treaty Organization www.ctbto.org ;United States Navy www.navy.mil
Fact sheet compiled by Martin Fleck + Jonas Ecke