India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time, according to data released in the SIPRI Yearbook 2026 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank focused on conflict, armaments and arms control.
The report states that India deployed 12 nuclear warheads, while China increased its number of deployed warheads to 34 in 2025. SIPRI said countries are now “increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of national power”.
According to the report, approximately 4,012 nuclear warheads remain deployed with missiles and aircraft worldwide. “Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12,187 warheads in January 2026, about 9,745 were in military stockpiles for potential use,” the report said.
This marks the first time SIPRI has shown a portion of India’s nuclear warheads as operationally deployed, while most remain in stockpile. The report does not specify when or under what circumstances India may have deployed nuclear warheads alongside launch systems.
SIPRI noted that Pakistan has not deployed any nuclear warheads. It also highlighted that China had increased its deployed warheads from 24 in 2025 to 34 in 2026, reflecting its emphasis on maintaining a ready nuclear deterrent.
The report stated that 2,100–2,200 deployed warheads worldwide remain on high operational alert. “Nearly all of these warheads belonged to Russia or the USA, and, to a lesser extent, France and the UK, but China and India may now occasionally deploy a small number of warheads mounted on missiles during peacetime,” it said.
“India is believed to have once again slightly expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2025,” SIPRI stated, adding that India “continued development of new types of nuclear delivery systems”.
“The brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025 saw India attacking Pakistani air- and missile bases that are likely to have nuclear-related roles, but both sides took steps to avoid escalation,” the report noted.
