The nuclear powers in the world continues to modernise their nuclear warheads though there has been a slow down in the number of nuclear warheads in 2018, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The assessment has been rendered in the SIPRI 2019 yearbook.
SIPRI said that Russia, United States, India, United kingdom, Pakistan China, France, Israel and North Korea possessed about 13,896 nuclear war heads in 2019. When compared to 2018, this was shorter in number as SIPRI notes that there were about 14465 ward heads last year.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says that the decrease in the nuclear warheads was because of its reduction by the US and Russia, which together possess the largest nuclear war heads. The two biggest nuclear countries have reduced the warheads as part of Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START). In 2021, New START comes to an end and by this time, both the countries have agreed to bring down their nuclear warheads.
However, SIPRI notes that both the countries, despite reducing the war heads, have extensive programmes for modernising their nuclear warheads, aircraft delivery systems and missiles. Though other countries have smaller warheads, they are also developing them or modernising them, according to SIPRI.
The report says that China was diversifying and increasing its nuclear arsenals. Indian and Pakistan were also increasing their warheads and they would possess a considerable number of warheads in the coming decade.
