How Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal, the World’s Largest, Compares With Others | WSJ
How Russia’s Nuclear Arsenal, the World’s Largest, Compares With Others | WSJ
Russia has the largest inventory of nuclear weapons in the world, but many are in need of modernization.
WSJ breaks down Vladimir Putin’s arsenal as Moscow touts its nuclear capabilities amid the war in Ukraine.
Illustration: Eve Hartley
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Content
0.73 -> - [Narrator] Land-based
ballistic missiles,
2.6 -> submarine-launched weaponry
4.44 -> and bombs that can be
deployed from aircraft.
7.2 -> These are some of the weapons
8.37 -> in Russia's vast nuclear arsenal,
10.45 -> seen here on display in training drills
12.84 -> before Russia launched
its invasion of Ukraine.
16.55 -> - The strategic systems,
17.64 -> they have intercontinental range.
19.69 -> And so they can hit anywhere on the globe.
22.78 -> - [Narrator] While the US
doesn't communicate much
24.43 -> on its nuclear weapons,
25.9 -> Russia has been showcasing its advances.
28.222 -> (waves crashing)
30.095 -> (reporter speaking in foreign language)
36.41 -> - [Narrator] After President Putin ordered
37.79 -> Moscow's nuclear deterrence forces
39.64 -> to be put on alert in later February,
41.94 -> the Pentagon said it had not detected
43.95 -> any major new developments on that front.
46.63 -> Many analysts say it's
unlikely the weapons
49.09 -> will be used in warfare,
although it can't be ruled out.
51.94 -> But Moscow could use its
arsenal as a deterrent
54.4 -> to discourage the US and its allies
56.36 -> from taking more action
in the Ukraine war.
58.93 -> So here's what we know about
Russia's nuclear inventory,
62 -> the largest in the world
63.55 -> and Putin's push to modernize it.
66.55 -> When it comes to scale,
67.83 -> Russia and the US have a similar
number of nuclear weapons.
71.36 -> According to an estimate by the Federation
73.22 -> of American Scientists,
74.91 -> Russia's warhead inventory totals 5,977.
80.13 -> In comparison, the US has 5,428.
84 -> Those numbers are similar also due
86.32 -> to international arms control agreements
88.77 -> to limit the size of each
country's nuclear stockpile.
92.11 -> At the heart of Moscow's arsenal
93.68 -> is what military experts
call the nuclear triad.
96.75 -> The US also has nuclear triad status,
99.18 -> while China has been working
100.33 -> to achieve the same advanced
version in recent years.
103.78 -> In principle, Russia's weapons
can be delivered by air
106.62 -> with strategic bombers,
such as the TU-95MS
110.49 -> and TU-160 by its navy
113.16 -> with nuclear-powered
ballistic missile submarines
115.83 -> and by land-based ballistic launchers,
118.03 -> such as this RS-24 YARS.
120.93 -> The explosive force of atomic bombs
122.96 -> is measured in kilotons
124.74 -> and warheads on these weapons have a power
127.15 -> of as much as 400 kilotons according
129.7 -> to defense analysts.
131.55 -> That's more than 25 times
the atomic bomb the US used
134.37 -> in Hiroshima, Japan at
the end of World War II.
137.779 -> (pensive music)
140.18 -> Days after the first bomb was released,
142.22 -> another was dropped on Nagasaki,
144.32 -> seen here in this footage in 1945.
147.41 -> It became the last atomic
bomb to be used in combat.
150.35 -> Since then, countries
have built up arsenals
152.44 -> as a deterrent for conflict.
154.3 -> The US and Russia created
their vast stockpiles
156.7 -> during the Cold War.
158.93 -> - And our restraint is not inexhaustible.
161.96 -> - [Narrator] More recently,
and decades after the end
164.06 -> of that Cold War, Moscow is again touting
166.82 -> that its intercontinental
ballistic missiles
169.19 -> are capable of hitting the
US in 20 to 30 minutes.
172.55 -> Hans Kristensen is the director
174.21 -> of the Nuclear Information Project
176.14 -> and has been studying
nuclear weapons for decades.
178.74 -> He says long-range missiles
180.29 -> are the most powerful
elements in Russia's arsenal.
182.87 -> - And if that was released,
184.56 -> it could destroy all major cities.
187.69 -> - [Narrator] The US also
has missiles capable
189.54 -> of potentially hitting Russia
within a similar timeframe.
192.92 -> In addition, both
countries have stockpiles
195.3 -> of non-strategic nuclear weapons,
197.63 -> which are usually defined as
shorter-range delivery systems
200.39 -> with lower-yield warheads.
202.52 -> But analysts note as the
US has been scaling back
205.03 -> its stockpile of these weapons
over the last three decades,
208.22 -> Russia has largely kept its inventory.
210 -> - We think the US has
only a small inventory
212.6 -> of a few hundred tactical
nuclear bombs that are left.
216.26 -> This has been an important development
217.96 -> in the US arsenal evolution
220.61 -> because they used to have, like Russia,
222.56 -> a huge inventory of non-strategic
224.21 -> but they've largely moved away from that
226.01 -> in the US planning.
228.48 -> - [Narrator] Russia is modernizing
some Soviet era weapons,
231.45 -> which analysts say is a routine step
233.53 -> in order to maintain the
readiness of older tools.
236.54 -> It's also developing newer weapons
238.5 -> that have been publicized
239.49 -> by Russian President Vladimir Putin
241.57 -> and on Russian state TV.
243.693 -> (report speaking in foreign language)
248.74 -> - [Narrator] Zircon is
one of six nuclear weapons
250.95 -> Putin revealed the country
was developing in March 2018.
254.67 -> Others included underwater
nuclear-powered uncrewed vehicles
258.57 -> and nuclear-powered global
range cruise missiles.
261.85 -> Analysts say it's hard to determine
263.53 -> what stage of development
they are currently at.
266.577 -> (whooshing sound)
268.94 -> Unlike the US,
269.98 -> Russia has been sharing
its nuclear capabilities
272.45 -> on state TV and online media.
275 -> Wary of stoking tensions
as war rages in Ukraine,
278 -> US officials even canceled
a scheduled weapon test.
281.47 -> Although other exercises continued.
284.08 -> In mid-March, the US Air
Force conducted drilled
286.55 -> with B-52 bombers,
288.37 -> capable of carrying nuclear missiles.
291.97 -> But to use nuclear weapons
would be a significant step.
295.4 -> Some experts say Putin may
turn to non-strategic bombs
298.6 -> if cornered in this war.
300.4 -> However, the bar is high
for any potential deployment
303.38 -> and it's unlikely that
Russia will use them at all.
306.15 -> - It's one thing to rattle the sword
308.01 -> and warn your adversaries
that you have this capability
310.93 -> by doing exercises or increasing alert
314.61 -> or something like that.
315.76 -> It's another step to
actually use nuclear weapons
320.13 -> because once you do,
322.38 -> all bets are off in terms of
how destructive this new phase
328.41 -> is going to be.
329.33 -> - [Narrator] The buildup and
showcasing of new weapons
331.45 -> during the Ukraine war reminds
some of the Cold War era,
335.05 -> a period when the US and
Russia used ownership
337.66 -> of nuclear forces as a defense
amid heightened tensions.
341.517 -> (pensive music)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K10XKvHpYxY