Earlier this month, the Russian foreign ministry underscored that Moscow does not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons, but that it is Western powers who use nuclear rhetoric, trying to make it look like Russia is preparing to deliver strikes using weapons of mass destruction.
The US’ new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which was recently published by the Pentagon and embedded into the country’s National Defense Strategy (NDS), prioritises the modernisation of the US current nuclear arsenal, singling out Russia and China as the main potential adversaries.
Here is a brief insight into the nuclear forces of Moscow, Beijing, and Washington:
Russia
The NPR says Russia has “up to 2,000” nuclear warheads and is pursuing several novel nuclear-capable systems “designed to hold the US homeland or allies and partners at risk, some of which are also not accountable under New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).”
This figure is in line with the Pentagon’s previous estimates that Moscow purportedly possessed at least 5,977 nuclear warheads in 2019.
As part of the START data exchange, Russia indicated that as of September 1, 2019, it had 513 deployed strategic delivery vehicles with 1,426 warheads.
Russia’s delivery vehicles include intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), such as the sophisticated Sarmat ICBM, as well as the Yars and Topol ICBMs; strategic bombers, including the modernised versions of the Tu-160 and the Tu-95, plus advanced nuclear-powered submarines of the Borei-class equipped with Bulava nuclear missiles.
Unlike the US, Russia has state-of-the-art hypersonic glide vehicles, including the Avangard and Kinzhal, which are also capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
China
China “likely intends to possess at least 1,000 deliverable warheads by the end of the decade,” says NPR.
Currently, China is the only one of the five states officially possessing nuclear weapons under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) that does not provide any information about its military forces, including the nuclear component.
The Pentagon believes that China possesses about 400 nuclear warheads that can be delivered by ICBMs, including the Dongfeng (DF)-4, DF-5A, DF-31, and DF-31A, as well as the latest DF-41 modification that was first showcased at a military parade in Beijing on October 1, 2019.
According to the London-based Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, China’s nuclear delivery vehicles also include Type-094 and Type-096 nuclear-powered submarines as well as the H-6 and H-6K bombers plus the new-generation H-20 strategic bomber.
China also has the hypersonic medium-range DF-17 ICBM, which Beijing claims can carry nuclear warheads.
US
Right now, there are an estimated 1,350 nuclear warheads on at least 652 delivery vehicles in the US, including 400 Minuteman III ICBMs and 14 nuclear-capable Ohio-class Trident submarines.
According to information published on the US Department of Defense website, the modernisation of the Minuteman III missiles, which make up “the most responsive leg” of the US nuclear triad, is due to start in 2029.
Additional US nuclear delivery vehicles include strategic bombers such as the B-52H Stratofortress and the B-2A Spirit.
With Russia achieving hypersonic capability in late 2017 and China following suit in 2019, the US has yet to put hypersonic vehicles, including those capable of carrying nuclear warheads, in service.
Source: United News of Bangladesh