The Nobel Committee awarded the 2024 Peace Prize to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyowhich brings together survivors of the devastation caused by the atomic bomb used by the United States in World War II against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The announcement appeared as a kind of warning about the risks of an atomic catastrophe that may come as international tensions grow and the “atom club” continues to expand. The latest development comes from Russia, which proposed a review of its weapons doctrine assuming the use of the bomb even in the event of aggression by another non-nuclear State but supported by a power with this type of weapons.
But how many and which States today possess the most devastating weapon? According to data from the Federation of American Scientists, there are eight countries that openly declare that they possess atomic devices.which totals about 12,000 nuclear warheads worldwide. An impressive figure, which brings to mind the nightmares of the Cold War.
Powers that concentrate the world arsenal
The United States, which was the first to develop and use atomic bombs in 1945, and Russia, heir to the Soviet arsenal, together possess almost 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads. Washington is estimated to have 5,428, of which 1,744 are active, while Moscow has 5,977, with 1,588 ready for use. Both superpowers have a “nuclear triad” made up of land-based ballistic missiles, strategic bombers and missile submarines.
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The list of nations with atomic bombs also includes the United Kingdomwhich carried out its first test in 1952 and today has 225 warheads embarked on Trident submarines. Francewith 290 devices deployed on submarines and airplanes, and Chinawhich detonated its first bomb in 1964 and today has an arsenal estimated at about 350 warheads.
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Outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Although the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) only grants atomic power status to the five countries of the UN Security Council, three other States have carried out nuclear tests claiming possession of the bomb: India carried out its first test in 1974, Pakistan followed in 1998, and North Koreawhich detonated its first device in 2006. According to estimates, New Delhi and Islamabad have a comparable arsenal, between 150 and 200 nuclear warheads each, while Pyongyang has between 40 and 50. Israel It has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons. As the Federation of American Scientists explains, “the Jewish State is universally believed to possess nuclear weapons,” although it maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity.” Estimates of its likely arsenal range from a minimum of 80 to a maximum of 400 nuclear warheads.
In addition to the countries that possess ‘the bomb’, it is worth mentioning the cases of South Africa, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine: the first has dismantled a small arsenal built in the 1980s, while the other three have delivered nuclear warheads to Moscow. Soviet forces that remained in their territory after the end of the Cold War. Currently, only South Africa and Kazakhstan have completed a denuclearization process, while Belarus has once again hosted Russian weapons and Ukraine has seen its security guarantees canceled in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons when Moscow invades it in 2022.
Another little-known aspect refers to the US nuclear bombs deployed in five NATO States within the framework of the so-called “nuclear sharing”: these are Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, which host a total of a hundred weapons. North Americans. As the Federation of American Scientists explains, these states “have no control over weapons in peacetime, but in the event of war they would provide double-capacity aircraft to transport the bombs.” In turn, Russia recently announced that it has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, its close ally. According to President Vladimir Putin, this would be a response to the deployment of US bombs in NATO countries, although the White House declared it saw no signs of an imminent threat.
The crisis in the Middle East has revived attention on Iran’s nuclear program. The atomic facilities in Natanz, Isfahan and Tehran could be the next targets of an Israeli attack.
The most powerful atomic bombs
When assessing the power and danger of nuclear arsenals, it is important to distinguish between different types of devices. Atomic bombs or A bombs are based on the fission of uranium or plutonium and have explosive powers ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of tons of TNT. Those launched by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had a power of 15 and 21 kilotons respectively.
However, thermonuclear or H bombs are the most devastating; They use the fusion of hydrogen isotopes such as deuterium and tritium. Se They were developed since the 1950s by the United States and the USSR and can reach powers of the order of megatons, or millions of tons of TNT equivalent. The most powerful bomb was the “Tsar Bomba”, detonated by the USSR in 1961, with a power of 50 megatons, equivalent to 3,000 times that of Hiroshima. Currently, Russia and the United States are believed to have thermonuclear warheads with yields of up to 1.2 megatons, while nations such as China, France and the United Kingdom have devices weighing hundreds of kilotons. There are also so-called “tactical nuclear weapons”, designed for use on the battlefield. These are devices of relatively low power, generally between 0.3 and 50 kilotons, but capable of causing devastating effects. Both Russia and the United States possess vast arsenals of tactical weapons, estimated at around 1,900 and 2,000 respectively.
