United States
Nuclear Forces, 2007
| Name/Type | Launchers/SSBNs |
Year
Deployed |
Range (km) | Warheads
x yield |
Total warheads | |
|
ICBMs |
||||||
|
Minuteman III |
300 | 1979 | 9,650+ | 2-3 warheads apiece | 750/35 spares | |
| Minuteman
III MK-12 |
150 | 1970 | 9,650+ | 1
warhead apiece |
150 | |
| Minuteman
III MK-12 |
50 | 1970 | 3 warheads apiece | 150/30 spare | ||
| Total | 500 | 1,050/65 spares | ||||
|
SLBMs |
||||||
| Trident II D-5 MK-4 |
|
1992 | 7,360 | 6 warheads apiece | 1,632/80 spares | |
| Trident II D-5 MK-5 |
1990 | 7,360 | 6 warheads apiece | 384/20 spares |
||
| Total |
336/14 boats
|
2,016/100 spares | ||||
| Sub-Total, Ballistic Missiles | 836 | 3,066/165 spares | ||||
|
BOMBERS |
||||||
| B-52H1 Stratofortress | 94/56 | 1961 | 14,080 | ALCM/W80 1 x 5-150 kt | 1,000/30 spares | |
| ACM/W80 1 x 5-150 kt | 400/20 spares | |||||
| B-2 Spirit1 | 21/16 | 1994 | 9,600 | B61-7, -11, B83-1 bombs (sub kt to 1.3 MT) | 555 | |
| Total | 115/72 | 1,955/50 spares | ||||
| Total, Strategic Nuclear Forces | 951 | at least 1,813.1 MT | 5,021/215 spares | |||
| NON-STRATEGIC WEAPONS | ||||||
| B61-3, -4, -10 Bombs | 1979 | .3-170 | 400 | |||
| Tomahawk SLCMs | 325 |
|
1984 | 1 x 5-150 kt | 100 | |
| Total | 325 | n/a | 500 | |||
|
OTHER WEAPONS |
||||||
| Hedge/Reserve |
~4,225
|
|||||
| Awaiting Dismantlement/Disposal | ||||||
| GRAND TOTAL |
~1,800 MT (deployed weapons) |
~9,960 | ||||
Source:
Arkin, William and Robert Norris. "NRDC Nuclear Notebook: US Nuclear Forces, 2007." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January/February 2007.
Notes:
1. The first figure is the total inventory, including those used for training, testing and backup; the second figure is inventory: the number of operational aircraft assigned for nuclear or conventional missions.
There are several different ways to quantify current US 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) list 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.
Another way of counting US nuclear forces takes into account the status both of the delivery vehicles and the warheads. In the following chart, the number of ICBM warheads is simply the number of deployed, operational ICBM launchers multiplied by the number of warheads per missile. For sea-based strategic forces, the total number of warheads is derived from the number of deployed ballistic missile-carrying submarines (SSBNs). Finally, the total number of warheads on the bomber force represents total deployed air-launched/advanced cruise missiles (ALCMs/ACMs) and bombs (not including missiles in reserve).
Click here for the latest MOU data (July 2005)
Additional Information
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2007 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2006 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2005 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2004 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- MOU data -April 2004
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2003 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- NRDC Table of Global Nuclear Weapons Stockpiles 1945-2002
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2002 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2001 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- U.S. Nuclear Forces 2000 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- START I treaty summary
- START II treaty summary
- Status of US ICBM dismantlement efforts required by START I
- Latest MOU data (July 2005)
- MOU data (July 2000)
- U.S. Nuclear Stockpile 1945-1996 (National Resources Defense Council)
- Chapter on the United States in Deadly
Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats, by
Joseph Cirincione, Jon B. Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar,
Carnegie Endowment, 2005
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