Estimated Nuclear Weapons Locations 2009

Some 23,300 nuclear weapons are stored at 111 locations around the world (click for map)

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By Hans M. Kristensen

The world’s approximately 23,300 nuclear weapons are stored at an estimated 111 locations in 14 countries, according toan overviewproduced by FAS andNRDC.

Nearly half of the weapons are operationally deployed with delivery systems capable of launching on short notice.

The overview is published in theBulletin of the Atomic Scientistsand includes the July 2009 START memorandum of understanding data. A previous version was included in theannual reportfrom the International Panel of Fissile Materials published last month.

Figure 2: Saratov Nuclear Sites

More than 1,000 nuclear weapons surround Saratov.

Russiahas an estimated 48 permanent nuclear weapon storage sites, of which more than half are on bases for operational forces. There are approximately 19 storage sites, of which about half are national-level storage facilities. In addition, a significant number of temporary storage sites occasionally store nuclear weapons in transit between facilities.

This is a significant consolidation from theestimated90 Russian sites ten years ago, and more than 500 sites before 1991.

许多俄罗斯遗址彼此紧密，人口稠密的地区。一个例子是萨拉托夫地区，该地区被导弹师，战略轰炸机基地和一个国家级储藏现场包围，大概超过1,000枚核弹头（图2）。

TheUnited Statesstores its nuclear weapons at 21 locations in 13 states and five European countries. This is a consolidation from theestimated24 sites ten year ago, 50 at the end of the Cold War, and 164 in 1985 (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: B61 Nuclear Bombs in Storage

内华达州内利斯空军基地的冰屋内约有50枚B61核弹。根据美国空军的说法，美国空军的四个中央储藏室之一是，内利斯商店的七十五个冰屋“自由世界中最大的库存之一”。

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Europe has about the same number of nuclear weapon storage locations as the Continental United States, with weapons scattered across seven countries. This includes seven sites inFranceand four inBritain. Five non-nuclear NATO countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey)still hostU.S. nuclear weapons first deployed there during the Cold War.

We estimate thatChinahas 8-14 facilities associated with nuclear weapons, most likely closer to the lower number, near bases with units that operate nuclear missiles or aircraft. None of the weapons are believed to be fully operational but stored separate from delivery vehicles at sites controlled by the Central Military Commission.

Is There a Nuclear Weapons Storage Site on Hainan Island?

Where does China store nuclear warheads for its ballistic missile submarines? The naval base near Julin on Hainan Island has extensive underground facilities. An alternative to the base itself could potentially be a facility elsewhere on the island, such as Foluo Air Base where construction of an underground facility began five years before the first SSBNarrivedat Hainan. Or are the weapons stored on the mainland? Click image to enlarge.

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Israelprobably has about four nuclear sites, whereas the nuclear storage facilities inIndiaandPakistanare – despite many rumors – largely undetermined. All three countries are thought to store warheads separate from delivery vehicles.

Despite two nuclear tests and many rumors, we are unaware of publicly available evidence that朝鲜has operationalized its nuclear weapons capability.

Warhead concentrations vary greatly from country to country. With 13,000 warheads at 48 sites, Russian stores an average of 270 warheads at each location. The U.S. concentration is much higher with an average of 450 warheads at each location. These are averages, however, and in reality the distribution is thought to be much more uneven with some sites only storing tens of warheads.

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Finally, a word of caution is in order: estimates such as these obviously come with a great deal of uncertainty, as we don’t have access to classified intelligence estimates. Based on publicly available information and our own assumptions we have nonetheless produced a best estimate that we hope will assist the public debate. Comments and suggestions are encouraged so we can adjust the overview in the future.

This publication was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York and Ploughshares Fund. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.