How many nuclear weapons does Russia have? What arsenal does Moscow have? Where can they strike? How many weapons are used in the war with Ukraine and how many are operational? The questions are answered by Alessandro Ricci’s indepth analysis devoted to Russia’s nuclear arsenal, published in the latest issue of Iriad Review. Peace and Conflict Studies.
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It is estimated that the nuclear warheads in Russia’s arsenal totaled nearly 6,000 units in early February 2022. Of these, the usable number accounts for more than half of the total, or about 4,477 units, of which 1,588 are already deployed and operational, accounting for both strategic and nonstrategic weapons.
Of the operational warheads, we read in the study, 812 are those placed in ground ballistic missile systems, 576 are those intended for deployment in ballistic systems mounted on nuclear submarines, and another 200 those that can be operated by bombers equipped to use nuclear weapons. Of the remaining releases, 2,889 are instead those that are not provisioned and stored, most of which (1,912) are represented by nonstrategic releases and a sizeable minority by strategic releases (977).
The remaining 1,500 warheads have been withdrawn and are being dismantled. However, as they have not yet been fully decommissioned, these heads may remain operational and reusable in a short period of time. Therefore, it is necessary to include in the calculation this type of warheads, even as part of the available Russian arsenal.
However, the number of warheads available and capable of being armed by Russia is currently subject to and governed by the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (“Restart). The treaty obliges the two signatories to the treaty, the United States and Russia, to keep their nuclear arsenals within certain limits, at least until 2026, which actually made it possible to limit the growth of nuclear arsenals between Washington and Moscow and to limit the effectiveness of already deployed weapons systems .
The limits within which the two states must keep are: limit of 800 nuclear missile carriers between deployed and nondeployed; Limit to 1,550 warheads deployed between bombers and missiles; Limit of 700 carriers deployed simultaneously between Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), Submarine Ballistic Missiles (Slbm) and heavy bombers with nuclear weapons.
Russia has embarked on a continuous modernization course of its nuclear arsenal over the past thirty years, which was planned to result in an upgrade of 70% of the entire military inventory by 2020. Factoring in the missile arsenal alone, Russian officials estimated that the transition from Sovietera nuclear weapons to more modern systems was about 83% complete even in 2020, the study shows.
Chapter ICBMs: These would be 306 armed and operational and capable of equipping up to a total of 1,185 nuclear warheads. The national bases are: Saratov63, Bryansk18, KomsomolsknaAmure31, Trekhgorny1, Lesnoy4, Khabarovsk47, Voronezh45, Irkutsk45, Belgorod22, Vologda20, Mozhaysk 10, Olenegorsk2. The ICBMs currently deployed by the Russian armed forces, the study said, are of different types and could have both mobile struts and be stored in silos.
Out of a total of 49 submarines that make up the entire Russian naval army, 11 and of different types are currently nuclearpowered or the only ones capable of equipping nuclear weapons. Another 6 submarines are under construction and will expand the Russian Navy in the coming years. There are currently 3 fleets that have nuclear submarines assigned to them. Depending on the type of membership, submarines can be equipped with a variable number of launchers up to a maximum of 16 ballistic missiles for a total naval strength of about 800 warheads.
However, the maximum number that can be transported at one time has been reduced to an estimated number of between 576 and 624 due to the restrictions imposed by the restart.
The air detachment consists mainly of Tu160 and Tu95MS bombers. The entire Russian air fleet is estimated at around 6070 bombers in total. Each bomber of the first type can carry up to 12 launchers, while those of the second type can be equipped with 6 to 16 missiles. The Russian bombers would therefore have a total transport capacity of about 800 warheads in total, even if it is estimated that the 600 units actually allocated to the air component of the entire Russian arsenal will not be exceeded.
Nonstrategic or tactical weapons, mainly dualuse systems, that is, weapons capable of being equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads, are entrusted to all parts of the Russian armed forces, especially defensive ones. It is estimated that just over 1,900 warheads are assigned to this type of force.
Of these, 387 are used by the territory’s defense system, particularly air, but to a lesser extent coastal defenses. 90 warheads are assigned to ground forces to equip shortrange ballistic missiles and landlaunched cruise missiles. The Air Force will then be allocated 500 warheads for use on mediumrange bombers and dualuse fighterbombers. However, the navies, including naval aviation, account for the largest share of nonstrategic weapons, with about 935 warheads for groundattack instruments, naval and antisubmarine cruise missiles. The importance of the nonstrategic component within the Russian arsenal should not be underestimated.