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Transparency in the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile

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The United States is releasing newly declassified information on the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile to update the information released in April 2014. Increasing the transparency of global nuclear stockpiles is important to nonproliferation efforts, including commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the pursuit of further reductions that cover all nuclear weapons: deployed and non-deployed, strategic and non-strategic.
 
Stockpile. As of September 2014, the U.S. stockpile of nuclear warheads consisted of 4,717 warheads. This number represents an 85 percent reduction in the stockpile from its maximum (31,255) at the end of fiscal year 1967, and a 78 percent reduction from its level (22,217) when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989. The below figure shows the U.S. nuclear stockpile from 1945 through September 30, 2014.
 
Warhead Dismantlement. From fiscal years 1994 through 2014, the United States dismantled 10,251 nuclear warheads. Since September 30, 2013, the United States has dismantled 299 nuclear warheads. Approximately 2,500 additional nuclear warheads are currently retired and awaiting dismantlement.
 
Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons. The number of U.S. non-strategic nuclear weapons has declined by more than 90 percent since September 30, 1991.
 
Date: 04/27/2015 Description: Graph of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile in Fiscal Years 1945-2014. Includes active and inactive warheads. Several thousand additional nuclear warheads are retired and awaiting dismantlement. - State Dept Image
 

Stockpile Numbers – End of Fiscal Years 1962-2014
Data prior to 1962 released by Department of Energy in December 1993

1962

25,540

1,963

28,133

1964

29,463

1965

31,139

1966

31,175

1967

31,255

1968

29,561

1969

27,552

1970

26,008

1971

25,830

1972

26,516

1973

27,835

1974

28,537

1975

27,519

1976

25,914

1977

25,542

1978

24,418

1979

24,138

1980

24,104

1981

23,208

1982

22,886

1983

23,305

1984

23,459

1985

23,368

1986

23,317

1987

23,575

1988

23,205

1989

22,217

1990

21,392

1991

19,008

1992

13,708

1993

11,511

1994

10,979

1995

10,904

1996

11,011

1997

10,903

1998

10,732

1999

10,685

2000

10,577

2001

10,526

2002

10,457

2003

10,027

2004

8,570

2005

8,360

2006

7,853

2007

5,709

2008

5,273

2009

5,113

2010

5,066

2011

4,897

2012

4,881

2013

4,804

2014

4,717

*Does not include weapons retired and awaiting dismantlement

 

Department of Energy Weapon Dismantlements (Fiscal Year 1994 – 2014)

1994

1,369

1995

1,393

1996

1,064

1997

498

1998

1,062

1999

206

2000

158

2001

144

2002

344

2003

222

2004

206

2005

280

2006

253

2007

545

2008

648

2009

356

2010

352

2011

305

2012

308

2013

239

2014

299

Total Dismantlements   10,251


Definitions

The nuclear stockpile includes both active and inactive warheads. Active warheads include strategic and non-strategic weapons maintained in an operational, ready-for-use configuration, warheads that must be ready for possible deployment within a short timeframe, and logistics spares. They have tritium bottles and other Limited Life Components installed. Inactive warheads are maintained at a depot in a non-operational status, and have their tritium bottles removed. A retired warhead is removed from its delivery platform, is not functional, and is not considered part of the nuclear stockpile. Warheads awaiting dismantlement constitute a significant fraction of the total warhead population and will continue to grow as the New START Treaty is implemented and as unneeded warheads are retired. A dismantled warhead is a warhead reduced to its component parts.