World faces new nuclear arms race: SIPRI

STOCKHOLM

Most of the world's nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, researchers warned on June 16.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said nuclear powers including the United States and Russia, which account for around 90 percent of the world's stockpile, had spent time last year "upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions.”

Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads.

But SIPRI warned that the trend was likely to be reversed in the coming years.

"What we see now, first of all, is that the number of operational nuclear warheads is beginning to increase," SIPRI Director Dan Smith told AFP.

This was especially the case with China, which SIPRI said had about 600 nuclear warheads and had added 100 new warheads in 2023 and 2024.

"China is increasing its nuclear force steadily," Smith said, adding that the country could reach 1,000 warheads in seven or eight years.

While that would still be well short of Russian and U.S. arsenals it would make China "a much bigger player,” said Smith.

He said the world faced new threats "at a particularly dangerous and unstable moment" for geopolitics, adding: "We see the warning signs of a new nuclear arms race coming."

SIPRI counted a total of 12,241 warheads in January 2025, of which 9,614 were in stockpiles for potential use.

The institute noted in its report that both Russia and the United States had "extensive programs under way to modernize and replace their nuclear warheads.”

Israel, which does not acknowledge its nuclear weapons, is also believed to be modernizing its arsenal, which SIPRI estimated was about 90 warheads at the start of the year.

Israel on June 13 carried out a series of massive attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, top generals and scientists, citing that Tehran has advanced its nuclear program.