United States Exposes its Number of Warheads

The United States publicly released a once top secret information last May 5, 2010 as the Pentagon revealed that the country has 5,113 nuclear warheads in stock.

This revelation is only the second time in the country’s history that the government disclosed confidential information regarding its number of warheads. The release of this number was done in light of the announcement from the Obama administration regarding the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The 5,113 warheads include both inactive and active ones, a senior defense official said.

According to Pentagon statistics, the stockpile was actually reduced by 84% since its peak of over 31,255 in 1967. The information released included annual statistics regarding short range and long range weapons used from 1962 to present.

Previously disclosed information about the US nuclear arsenal showed statistics that covered 1945 to 1961.

The senior defense official added that giving out these numbers shows how the United States can be transparent.

It is believed that disclosing data about the US nuclear stockpile puts a lot of pressure on other countries with nuclear weapons. Russia, for example, has an arsenal that is more difficult to evaluate.

The 5,113 warheads do not include those that are retired and ready to be dismantled. If the retired ones were added, the US would have a total of about 9,600 warheads.