How many nuclear warheads does the United States need?
The latest public accounting of the US nuclear arsenal – from September 2014 – showed about 4700 operational warheads, not counting those in the dismantlement queue. Of these, about 1800 were deployed on US submarine-launched ballistic missiles, on land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and at three US air bases hosting intercontinental bombers. About 200 tactical nuclear bombs were stationed at six fighter-bomber airbases in Europe.
The roughly 2900 warheads that are not deployed constitute a generous reserve for contingencies, such as a problem with one of the six existing US warhead types or a decision to break out of the New START Treaty limits and load US missiles and bombers with nuclear weapons up to their maximum carrying capacities (aka the “upload hedge”).
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