![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
The United States has embarked on a wide-ranging nuclear modernization program that will ultimately see every nuclear delivery system replaced with newer versions over the coming decades. In this issue of the Nuclear Notebook, we estimate that the United States maintains a stockpile of approximately 3,708 warheads—an unchanged estimate from the previous year. Of these, only about 1,770 warheads are deployed, while approximately 1,938 are held in reserve. Additionally, approximately 1,336 retired warheads are awaiting dismantlement, giving a total inventory of approximately 5,044 nuclear warheads. Of the approximately 1,770 warheads that are deployed, 400 are on land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, roughly 970 are on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 300 are at bomber bases in the United States, and approximately 100 tactical bombs are at European bases. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: director Hans M. Kristensen, senior research fellow Matt Korda, research associate Eliana Johns, and program associate Mackenzie Knight. To see all previous Nuclear Notebook columns in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists dating back to 1987, go to https://thebulletin.org/nuclear-notebook/.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This research was carried out with generous contributions from the New-Land Foundation, the Prospect Hill Foundation, Longview Philanthropy, Ploughshares Fund, and individual donors.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Hans M. Kristensen
Hans M. Kristensen is the director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, DC. His work focuses on researching and writing about the status of nuclear weapons and the policies that direct them. Kristensen is a coauthor of the world nuclear forces overview in the SIPRI Yearbook (Oxford University Press) and a frequent adviser to the news media on nuclear weapons policy and operations. He has coauthored the Nuclear Notebook since 2001. Inquiries should be directed to FAS, 1150 18th St NW, Suite 425, Washington, DC, 20036 USA; email: [email protected].
Matt Korda
Matt Korda is a senior research fellow for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, and an associate researcher with the Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Non- proliferation Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Previously, he worked for the Arms Control, Disarmament, and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Korda’s research and open-source discoveries about nuclear weapons have made headlines across the globe, and his work is regularly used by governments, policymakers, academics, journalists, and the broader public in order to challenge assumptions and improve accountability about nuclear arsenals and trends. He received his MA in International Peace and Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.
Eliana Johns
Eliana Johns is a research associate for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, where she researches the status and trends of global nuclear forces and the role of nuclear weapons. Previously, Johns worked as a project associate for DPRK Counterproliferation at CRDF Global, focusing on WMD nonproliferation initiatives to curb North Korea’s ability to gain revenue to build its weapons programs. Johns graduated with her bachelor’s in political science with minors in Music and Korean from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
Mackenzie Knight
Mackenzie Knight is a program associate for Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists where her work focuses on the Nuclear Information Project. Before this, Knight was a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow on the Project. Previously, Knight worked as a policy and communications intern at the Arms Control Association, as a summer fellow with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), as an analyst intern with Shephard Media in London, and most recently as a graduate research assistant at CNS while obtaining her master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She received bachelor’s degrees in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and Policy and Intelligence Analysis from Indiana University.