Russia

Nuclear Forces, 2006

NATO Name/ Russian Name Launchers/
SSBNs		 Year Deployed Range (km) Warheads
x yield (kt)		 Total warheads

ICBMs

SS-18 Satan (RS-20) 100 1979 9,000-11,000 10 x 550/750 1,000
SS-19 Stiletto (RS-18) 130 1980 10,000 6 x 550/750 780
SS-24 Scalpel M1/M2 (RS-22) 15 1987 10,000 10 x 550 150
SS-25 Sickle (RS-12M) 300 1985 10,500 1 x 550 300
SS-27 (Topol-M) 40 1997 10,500 1 x 550 40
Total 585     2,270

SLBMs

SS-N-18 Stingray (RSM-50) 96 1978 6,500/8,000 3 x 200 288
SS-N-23 Skiff (RSM-54) 96 1986 8,300 4 x 100 384
Total 192     672
Sub-Total, Ballistic Missiles 777     2,654

BOMBERS

Tu-95/Bear-G 32 1984 10,300 6 AS-15A ALCMs x 250kT 192
Tu-95/Bear-H 32 1984 10,500 16 AS-15A ALCMs or bombs x 250kT 512
Tu-160/Blackjack 14 1987 10,500-14,000 12 AS-15B ALCMs or AS-16 SRAMSs or bombs x 250kT 168
Total 78     872
Total, Strategic Nuclear Forces 855 launchers     3,814 warheads
NON-STRATEGIC WEAPONS
Type Name Launchers Total warheads
Strategic Defense
SAM SA-10 Grumble   1200 1,200
Land-based Non-strategic
Bombers and Fighters Tu-22 M Backfire(120), Su-24 Fencer (280)   385 1,540
Naval Non-strategic
Attack aircraft Backfire (45), Fencer (50)   95 190
SLCMs SS-N-9, SS-N-12, SS-N-19, SS-N-21, SS-N-22 240
ASW Weapons SS-N-15, SS-N-16, torpedoes 210
Total ~3,380

OTHER WEAPONS

Reserve/Awaiting Dismantlement ~8,800
Deployed ~7,200
GRAND TOTAL  

~2,030 MT

~16,000

Sources:

Norris, Robert and Hans M. Kristensen. "NRDC Nuclear Notebook: Russian Nuclear Forces, 2005," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April 2005.

Additional Resources

There are several different ways to quantify current Russian nuclear forces, depending on the definitions used (i.e., what constitutes a deployed weapon?). For example, the Memoranda of Understanding provided under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) lists official data for deployed strategic nuclear forces according to START I counting rules. Because the START I treaty was designed to reduce the potential number of deployable nuclear missiles or bombs, it defines 'deployed weapons' as the total number of strategic launch vehicles (i.e. ICBMs, SLBMs, bombers) deployed, even if the warheads have been removed or the launchers are simply awaiting dismantlement. Because of this, START I MOU numbers for nuclear forces are usually higher than actual operational numbers.

Latest MOU data (July 2005)

 

 

 

 

 

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