warhead

China is the world's third largest nuclear power with about 600 warheads, France has 290, the United Kingdom 225, India 180, Pakistan 170, Israel 90 and North Korea 50, the FAS says.

The last existing nuclear treaty between the US and Russia that limits their amounts of deployed nuclear arsenals - warheads ready to go - is set to expire in February next year.

This year, the State Department admitted that “Russia may have exceeded the deployed warhead limit by a small number during portions of 2024.”

The U.S. is roughly on par with Russia’s nuclear weapon stockpile, with each country possessing over 5,000 warheads.

Both countries observe a de facto moratorium on testing nuclear warheads, though Russia and the US do regularly run military drills involving nuclear-capable systems.