There are more than 12,500 nuclear warheads in the world.

The NPT, which was opened for signature on July 1, 1968 with the aim of preventing countries from entering into a nuclear arms race, entered into force in 1970. The treaty was extended indefinitely in 1995.

Although the treaty, which aims to prevent the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the peaceful use of nuclear energy and nuclear disarmament, marks its 55th anniversary this year, disputes over investment in nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons continue around the world.

Currently, the United States, Russia, China, England, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are among the countries with nuclear weapons.

Among these countries, Russia, the US and China are seen as the dominant power in terms of the number of nuclear weapons.

RUSSIA LEADING IN WAR TITLE

According to data from the research company Statista, there are more than 12,500 nuclear warheads in the world, while Russia leads the way with 5,889 nuclear warheads.

Russia is followed by the US with 5,244 warheads and China with 410 nuclear warheads. France has 290 nuclear warheads, Britain has 225, Pakistan has 170, India has 164, Israel has 90 and North Korea has 20 according to estimates.

According to the 2023 report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), overall, the number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline, but this is mainly due to the US disposal of unused warheads. and Russia.
On the other hand, the reduction in the number of active warheads on a global scale seems to be delayed and their number is increasing again.

The United States and Russia are known to have extensive programs to renew and modernize their nuclear warheads, missile delivery systems, aircraft and submarines, and nuclear weapons production facilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his address to the nation in February, announced that Russia had suspended its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
The New START Treaty, signed in 2010, limited the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by Russia and the United States to a maximum of 1,550.

Putin said in June that his country had deployed the first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus and that the arms transfer would be completed by the end of the summer.

The tactical nuclear weapons sent by Russia to Belarus are reported to be three times more powerful than the nuclear weapons used by the US against Japan in 1945.

The number of China’s nuclear warheads, which was thought to be 350 in January 2022, increased to 410 in January 2023. The SIPRI report stresses that China’s nuclear power is not fully known and a significant part of its Assessments are based on data from the US Department of Defense.

INVESTMENT INCREASES

In the reports produced by the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the International Initiative for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the investments made by 9 countries with nuclear weapons in the development of nuclear weapons in 2019-2022 were published.

According to the data, global investments in nuclear weapons amounted to $72.9 billion in 2019, $72.6 billion in 2020, $82.4 billion in 2021, and $82.9 billion in 2022. Notably, investments increased by $10 billion. dollars in 4 years.

The United States, which invested the most in nuclear weapons, was followed by China, Russia, England, France, India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea, respectively.

While the United States spent $35.4 billion on nuclear weapons in 2019, it spent $37.4 billion in 2020, $44.2 billion in 2021, and $43.7 billion in 2022.

China’s spending stood at $10.4 billion in 2019, increasing to $10.1 billion in 2020 and $11.7 billion in 2021 and 2022.

While Russia spent $8.5 billion in 2019 on these weapons, it spent $8 billion in 2020, $8.6 billion in 2021, and $9.6 billion in 2022.

It is seen that the UK spent $8.9 billion on nuclear weapons in 2019, $6.2 billion in 2020, $6.8 billion in 2021 and 2022.

France invested $4.8 billion in nuclear weapons in 2019, $5.7 billion in 2020, $5.9 billion in 2021 and $5.6 billion in 2022.

While India’s coffers for these weapons were $2.3 billion in 2019, this amount was determined to be $2.48 billion in 2020, $2.3 billion in 2021, and $2.7 billion dollars in 2022.
Israel spent $1 billion in 2019, $1.1 billion in 2020, and $1.2 billion in 2021 and 2022 developing nuclear weapons.

While Pakistan’s nuclear weapons investments were determined at $1 billion in 2019 and 2020, this figure increased to $1.1 billion in 2021 and decreased again to $1 billion in 2022.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons investments, which are at the center of nuclear weapons discussions, are estimated at $600 million in 2019, $667 million in 2020, $642 million in 2021, and $589 million. in 2022.

“COUNTRIES HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES”

Petr Topychkanov, Principal Investigator of SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Program, made a statement on the subject. Topychkanov stated that NATO’s nuclear policy was determined by the agreement reached between its nuclear-armed members, including the United States, Britain, and France, and its non-nuclear-weapon members.

Underlining that non-nuclear weapon member states have different attitudes, Topychkanov said: “While some countries are willing to have US tactical nuclear weapons on their soil and participate in NATO nuclear missions, others do not allow the deployment of weapons. nuclear weapons on its territory and not participate in missions. This difference of opinion makes the NPT ambiguous.”

Topychkanov stressed that since the entry into force of the NPT, significant progress has been made in reducing nuclear weapons in both Russia (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics before 1991) and the United States.

Stating that there was a significant decrease compared to the Cold War period, with the number of operationally deployed nuclear warheads limited to 1,550 within the scope of the START signed between the two countries in 2010, Topychkanov said: “In addition to the problems between Russia and Western countries, China and North Korea “Nuclear growth in non-NPT countries such as India and Pakistan could lead to an increase in global nuclear weapons,” he said.

Topychkanov, interpreting North Korea’s nuclear threats as a “survival strategy”, asserted that the country does not pose a threat to NATO countries in Europe or the United States.

Underlining that the nuclear threat from North Korea is a source of concern for US allies such as South Korea and Japan, Topychkanov said: “Some people in these countries advocate building a nuclear arsenal as a defensive measure.” (AA)