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Nuclear weapons tracker — tests, warheads, doctrine and treaties

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Every reported nuclear test, test of a nuclear-capable missile, change in nuclear doctrine and arms-control treaty event, with the estimated arsenals of the nine nuclear-armed states — Russia, the United States, China, France, the UK, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — collected from 310+ graded news outlets and government sources, in one place. Latest: “NFL Announces New Start Times in Week 11 Flex Schedule Changes” (Newsweek, 5h ago).

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Last reported nuclear event
None logged
in 3 days of records
Events logged · 30 days
0
2+ outlets or an A/B outlet
Headlines · 72 hours
12
from 12 outlets

Nuclear event log

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No nuclear test, nuclear-capable missile test, doctrine change or treaty event has been reported since WARNPOINT started this log 3 days ago.

Built automatically from headlines that say a state conducted a nuclear test, tested a nuclear-capable missile, changed its nuclear doctrine, deployed nuclear weapons, held a nuclear-forces drill or took a treaty step — one row per day and type. Plans, offers, warnings, programme costs and delays, civil nuclear power and analysis are left out. Faded rows come from a single outlet that is not A/B graded.

The nine nuclear-armed states

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StateEstimated warheadsFirst nuclear testNPT status
Russia≈5,4591949 (as the Soviet Union)Nuclear-weapon state under the NPT
United States≈5,1771945Nuclear-weapon state under the NPT
China≈6001964Nuclear-weapon state under the NPT
France≈2901960Nuclear-weapon state under the NPT
United Kingdom≈2251952Nuclear-weapon state under the NPT
India≈1801974Never joined
Pakistan≈1701998Never joined
Israel≈90No acknowledged testNever joined; neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons
North Korea≈502006Announced its withdrawal in 2003

Estimates of total inventories (deployed, stored and retired warheads awaiting dismantlement) as of January 2025 — SIPRI Yearbook 2025 and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Status of World Nuclear Forces 2025. No state publishes complete figures. Total ≈12,241.

Latest Nuclear weapons headlines

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Tests & launches

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Arms control & treaties

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Doctrine, threats & deployments

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Iran & the Middle East

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Timeline · key moments

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  1. Nov 19, 2024Russia approves a revised nuclear doctrine lowering its stated threshold for use
  2. Feb 21, 2023Putin announces Russia is suspending its participation in New START
  3. Aug 2, 2019The US formally leaves the INF Treaty, which then ends
  4. Oct 9, 2006First North Korean nuclear test, at Punggye-ri
  5. May 28, 1998First Pakistani nuclear tests, two weeks after India’s Pokhran-II tests
  6. Sep 24, 1996Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty opens for signature
  7. Dec 8, 1987US–Soviet INF Treaty signed, eliminating ground-launched intermediate-range missiles
  8. May 18, 1974First Indian nuclear test (“Smiling Buddha”) at Pokhran
  9. Jul 1, 1968Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature
  10. Oct 16, 1964First Chinese nuclear test, at Lop Nur
  11. Oct 1962Cuban Missile Crisis — the US–Soviet standoff over Soviet missiles in Cuba (October 16–28)
  12. Feb 13, 1960First French nuclear test (Gerboise Bleue) in the Algerian Sahara
  13. Oct 3, 1952First British nuclear test (Operation Hurricane) off Australia
  14. Aug 29, 1949First Soviet nuclear test (RDS-1) at Semipalatinsk
  15. Aug 6, 1945US atomic bombing of Hiroshima; Nagasaki follows on August 9
  16. Jul 16, 1945Trinity: the first nuclear test, by the United States in New Mexico

Key facts

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First nuclear test
Trinity — United States, July 16, 1945, New Mexico
Only wartime use
Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), by the United States
Global inventory
≈12,241 warheads in January 2025 (SIPRI estimate), down from a peak of about 70,000 in 1986
NPT
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: opened for signature July 1, 1968, in force March 5, 1970, extended indefinitely in 1995
CTBT
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty opened for signature September 24, 1996; not in force. Russia revoked its ratification in November 2023
New START
US–Russia treaty signed April 8, 2010, capping deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 each; Russia suspended participation in February 2023; set to expire February 5, 2026 under its 2021 extension
TPNW
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force January 22, 2021; none of the nine nuclear-armed states had joined as of 2025
Russian doctrine
Revised doctrine approved November 19, 2024: allows a nuclear response to a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power
Test explosions this century
Only North Korea’s six (2006–2017) as of 2025

Specialist sources

  • Breaking Defense — US defence trade news, incl. ICBM and submarine programmes
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • Defense News — defence industry and policy news
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • The War Zone — military technology, incl. missile tests and strategic forces
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • CSIS — Washington think tank; Missile Defense Project and nuclear policy analysis
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • Stimson Center — arms-control and nonproliferation research
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • 38 North — North Korea’s nuclear and missile sites from satellite imagery
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days
  • War on the Rocks — strategy and nuclear-deterrence commentary by practitioners
    nothing on this beat in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

Has anyone tested a nuclear weapon or nuclear-capable missile recently?

Nothing has been reported by two or more outlets in WARNPOINT’s records (3 days). The log updates every 15 minutes from 310+ news sources.

How many nuclear weapons are there in the world?

About 12,241 warheads in January 2025, according to SIPRI’s estimate — about 9,600 of them in military stockpiles and the rest retired and awaiting dismantlement. Russia and the United States hold nearly 90% between them.

Which countries have nuclear weapons?

Nine: Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Israel neither confirms nor denies its arsenal.

Which country has the most nuclear weapons?

Russia, with an estimated 5,459 warheads in January 2025 (SIPRI / FAS estimate), followed by the United States with about 5,177.

When was the last nuclear test?

The most recent confirmed nuclear test explosion as of 2025 was North Korea’s sixth, on September 3, 2017. North Korea is the only country to have conducted test explosions this century.

What is New START?

A US–Russia treaty signed on April 8, 2010 that capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads. Russia suspended its participation in February 2023, and the 2021 extension ran to February 5, 2026.

Where does this information come from?

From 310+ news outlets WARNPOINT reads around the clock — including Breaking Defense, Defense News, The War Zone, CSIS and international wires — each graded for reliability. Warhead figures are SIPRI / FAS estimates. Test claims by states are attributed to them. State media is graded S and labelled. Nothing on this page is AI-written.

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