Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
You probably know the big ones, but there might be some surprises on the list.
You probably know the big ones, but there might be some surprises on the list.
Nuclear states
Ever since the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, nations all over the World has been keeping a close eye on each other.
Seeing the destruction, the bomb caused, it was clear to everyone, that nuclear weapons would be the ultimate deterrence in the future.
The Cold War
During the Cold War, Superpowers raced to develop even more powerful nuclear weapons to scare any hostile nations.
The biggest bomb ever testet was the Tsar Bomba, tested by the Soviet Union. It yielded 50 megatons of TNT – more than 3300 times the yield of the bomb on Hiroshima.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty
In 1968, 190 Nations signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The objective of the treaty was to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and technology, with the ultimate goal of nuclear disarmarment.
Nukes are stille here – but where?
Even though the ultimate goal is nuclear disarmarment, we know that there are loads of nuclear warheads spread all over the world to this day.
Some Nations are concidered Nuclear States, some claim to be in possession of nuclear weapons, and one is suspected of having nukes, but officially denies it.
Confirmed: USA
The first nuclear nation of the World still has several thousand nuclear warheads.
As of 2024, the US is said to have a total of 3.700 nuclear warheads with 1.670 of them deployed.
Confirmed: Russia
The Soviet Union was the second nation to first test a nuclear weapon and since then, thousands of warheads have been produced.
Russia is said to be in possession of approximatly 4,300 nuclear warheads with 1,710 of them deployed.
Confirmed: United Kingdom
The third country to do a nuclear test was the United Kingdom, when the UK tested Hurricane in 1952.
The UK nuclear arsenal is said to count 225 warheads with 120 of them deployed.
Confirmed: France
The fourth country to join the nuclear weapons-club was France, when they tested Gerboise Bleue in 1960.
France is said to have 290 nuclear warheads in it’s arsenal with 280 of them deployed.
Confirmed: China
It may be surprising, but China was only the fifth nation to test a nuclear weapon, which happened in 1964.
Assessments are that China is in possession of 600 nuclear warheads with 24 of them being deployed.
Declaring: India
In 1974, India declared itself the World’s sixth nuclear nation when they tested Smiling Buddha.
As of 2024, India is said to be in possession of 180 nuclear warheads with none of the deployed.
Declaring: Pakistan
Longtime rival to India, Pakistan declared themselves the seventh nuclear power of the World when they conducted a test of Chagai-1 in 1998.
Pakistan is said to be in possession of 170 warheads with none of them deployed.
Declaring: North Korea
It’s notoriously difficult to find out what’s going on in North Korea, but in 2006, the Nation declared themselves a nuclear power after conducting a nuclear weapons test.
North Korea is assessed to be in possession of 50 nuclear warheads with none deployed.
Suspected: Israel
Israel has continuesly refused to acknowledge being a nuclear state.
That being said, an Israeli Minister said in a radio interview in 2023 that a nuclear strike would be “one way” to deal with the war in Gaza.
The country is generally understood to be in possession of 90 nuclear warheads with none deployed.
Former possession: South Africa
In the 1980’s, South Africa produced six nuclear weapons.
They dismantled them in the early 1990’s.
Former possession: Kazakhstan
As part of the Soviet Union, 1,400 nuclear warheads was placed on Kazakhstan territory.
They were all transferred back to Russia in 1995.
Former possession: Ukraine
Another former Soviet Republic, Ukraine had an estimated 1,700 nuclear weapons deployed on it’s territory when it became independant in 1991.
All the warheads was removed in 1996 and returned to Russia.
Re-possession: Belarus
For years, Belarus did not have nuclear weapons on it’s territory, but in 2023, the nation resumed hosting Russian nukes.