The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in its latest annual report, said the world risks plunging into a 'new dangerous arms race' as most nuclear powers seek to modernise and expand their arsenals. The report said, rather disarming, nuclear states launched “intensive” programs meant to modernise the existing nuclear facilities.
Russia and the US, which maintain and possess around 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons in the world, are set to review the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control treaty — the New START — which expires in February 2026, SIPRI noted. The agreement limits the number of simultaneously deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
Moscow withdrew from the treaty in 2023, citing the impracticality of the inspection due to Western involvement in the Ukraine war. However, it maintained that it remained open to dialogue on the issue if the arsenals of Washington’s NATO allies were also considered.
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Washington is insisting on roping in the world’s second biggest industrial, military and economic power, China, in any new agreement. According to SIPRI, China possesses the fastest-growing nuclear arsenal in the world and could rival “either Russia or the USA” in the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles by the end of 2030.
Subsequently, the UK and France are also modernising and developing nuclear weapons at a rapid pace, focusing on nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, the report said.
Paris, in particular, additionally aims to develop a new ballistic missile warhead.
“The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the Cold War, is coming to an end,” said Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.
"We see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric, and the abandonment of arms control agreements,” he said.
The research institute also listed Israel among the nations “believed to be modernising its nuclear arsenal”. Though Israel denies having nukes, it is widely established that Tel Aviv not only has them but is also conducting tests of new missile propulsion systems and alleged upgrades at the plutonium production reactor site in Dimona.
The report further said that Tel Aviv could have up to 90 nuclear warheads at its disposal.
The findings come as Israel conducts air raids against Iranian nuclear and military facilities, claiming Tehran is nearing the creation of a nuclear bomb.
Iran, which maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, was not mentioned in the SIPRI report.
According to several databases, the United States has 5177, second is Russia with its 5459 nuclear warheads, the United Kingdom has 225, France has 290, China boasts an impressive arsenal of 600, war heads while India has 165-172 and its arch rival Pakistan has 170-185, North Korea possesses 50 lastly Israel has 90 war heads in 2025.
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