The most powerful nuclear power. Nuclear powers are giving up their stocks: what awaits the Nuclear Club? Suspicions of possession of nuclear weapons

You have noticed that the farther, the more incomprehensible the processes taking place on the planet become. It is explainable. First, there are more and more people. Secondly, they do not sit on a palm tree, but develop. Only their creations are not always safe. Therefore, it is necessary for a person to understand where the threats lurk. It is proposed to study the list of countries that have Politicians and the military are closely watching what is happening inside these states. Yes, and you and I need to look closely, is it not blazing?

What are we talking about?

Before telling about how many countries in the world have nuclear weapons, it is necessary to define the concepts. The fact is that not everyone imagines the strength and power of the described threat. Nuclear weapons are a means of mass destruction of the population. If (God forbid) someone dares to use it, then there will not be a single person on the planet who has not suffered as a result of such an act. Some will simply be destroyed, the rest are subject to secondary risks. The nuclear arsenal includes the devices themselves, the means of their "delivery" and control. Fortunately, these are complex systems. To create them, you need to have the appropriate technology, which reduces the risk of replenishing the "owners' club". Therefore, the list of countries with nuclear weapons has remained unchanged for a long time.

A bit of history

Back in 1889, the Curies discovered oddities in the behavior of some elements. They discovered the principle of release of a huge amount of energy in the process of their decay. D. Cockcroft and other great minds dealt with this topic. And in 1934 L. Szilard received a patent for the atomic bomb. He was the first to figure out how to put the discovery into practice. We will not delve into the reasons for its work. However, there were many who wanted to take advantage of the discovery.

Such weapons were then considered to be the key to world domination. It doesn't even need to be applied. Swing like a club, everyone will obey in fear. By the way, the principle has been living for almost a century. All the nuclear powers listed below have a significant, compared with others, weight on the world stage. Of course, many people don't like it. But such is the order of things, according to philosophers.

Which countries are nuclear powers

It is clear that technologies could not create states that were not developed, that did not have an appropriate scientific and industrial base.

Although this is not all that is needed to create such complex devices. Therefore, the list of countries with nuclear weapons is small. It includes eight or nine states. Are you surprised by this uncertainty? Now let's explain what the problem is. But first, let's list them. List of countries with nuclear weapons: Russian Federation, USA, Great Britain, France, China, Pakistan, India. These states were able to implement Curie's discovery to varying degrees. Their arsenals are different in composition and, of course, threats. However, one bomb is believed to be enough to destroy life.

On the discrepancies in the quantitative composition of the "nuclear club"

That's what intrigue exists on the planet. In the list of countries with nuclear weapons, some experts include Israel. The state itself does not recognize that it can already be included in this "club". However, there is some circumstantial evidence that Israel does possess lethal weapons. In addition, some states are secretly working to create their own nuclear "baton". They talk a lot about Iran, which does not hide it. Only the government of this country recognizes the development of the "peaceful atom" carried out in its laboratories. I am inclined to believe that such a program, if successful, will also make it possible to create weapons of mass destruction. Experts say this. They also talk about nuclear powers supplying technology to their "satellites". This is done for political purposes to strengthen their own influence. Thus, some experts are trying to convict the United States of supplying nuclear weapons to partners. Recognized evidence has not yet been presented to the world.

About positive effects

Not all experts consider nuclear weapons only a threat to the existence of the planet. In times of crisis, it, oddly enough, can act as a powerful tool for "peace enforcement." The fact is that some leaders consider it possible to resolve claims and conflicts by military means. This, of course, is not good for people. Wars are death and destruction, a brake on the development of civilization. So it was before. Now the situation is different. All countries are connected in one way or another. As they say, the world has become very small and cramped. It is almost impossible to fight in such a way as not to hurt the "nuclear club". A power that possesses such a "club" can also use it in the event of a serious threat. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the risks before using conventional weapons. It turned out that the members of the “nuclear club” guarantee peace.

About differences in arsenals

Of course, the club of the “chosen ones” is heterogeneous. Countries have in completely disparate parameters. If the US and Russia have a so-called triad, then other states are limited in the potential use of their bombs. Strong countries (USA, RF) have carriers of all types. These include: ballistic missiles, air bombs, submarines. That is, it can be delivered to the place of impact on land, air and sea. Other members of the "nuclear club" have not yet reached such a development. Another issue is complicated by the fact that powers do not seek to reveal their secrets. Estimates of their nuclear arsenals are very relative. Negotiations are conducted in strict secrecy. Although efforts to establish parity are constantly being made. Nuclear weapons are currently not a military, but a political factor. Many politicians and specialists are working to ensure that this state of affairs remains unchanged. Nobody wants to die.

In recent months, the DPRK and the US have been actively exchanging threats to destroy each other. Since both countries have nuclear arsenals, the world is watching the situation closely. On the Day of Struggle for the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, we decided to remind you who has them and in what quantities. To date, eight countries that form the so-called Nuclear Club are officially aware of the presence of such weapons.

Who definitely has a nuclear weapon

The first and only state to use nuclear weapons against another country is USA. In August 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 200,000 people were killed in the attack.

Year of the first test: 1945

Nuclear launchers: submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers

Number of warheads: 6,800, including 1,800 deployed (ready to use)

Russia has the largest nuclear stock. After the collapse of the Union, Russia became the only heir to the nuclear arsenal.

Year of the first test: 1949

Carriers of nuclear charges: submarines, missile systems, heavy bombers, in the future - nuclear trains

Number of warheads: 7,000, including 1,950 deployed (ready to use)

Great Britain- the only country that has not conducted a single test on its territory. There are 4 submarines with nuclear warheads in the country, other types of troops were disbanded by 1998.

Year of the first test: 1952

Carriers of nuclear charges: submarines

Number of warheads: 215, including 120 deployed (ready to use)

France conducted ground tests of a nuclear charge in Algiers, where she built a test site for this.

Year of first test: 1960

Carriers of nuclear charges: submarines and fighter-bombers

Number of warheads: 300, including 280 deployed (ready to use)

China tests weapons only on its territory. China pledged to be the first to not use nuclear weapons. The PRC was suspected of transferring nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan.

Year of first test: 1964

Nuclear launchers: ballistic launch vehicles, submarines and strategic bombers

Number of warheads: 270 (in reserve)

India announced that it had nuclear weapons in 1998. In the Indian Air Force, French and Russian tactical fighters can be carriers of nuclear weapons.

Year of first test: 1974

Nuclear charge carriers: short, medium and extended range missiles

Number of warheads: 120-130 (in reserve)

Pakistan tested his weapons in response to Indian actions. World sanctions have become a reaction to the emergence of nuclear weapons in the country. Recently, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan considered launching a nuclear attack on India in 2002. Bombs can be delivered by fighter-bombers.

Year of first test: 1998

Number of warheads: 130-140 (in reserve)

North Korea announced the development of nuclear weapons in 2005, and in 2006 conducted the first test. In 2012, the country declared itself a nuclear power and amended the constitution accordingly. Recently, the DPRK has been conducting a lot of tests - the country launches intercontinental ballistic missiles and threatens the United States with a nuclear strike on the American island of Guam, which is located 4,000 km from the DPRK.

Year of first test: 2006

Nuclear charge carriers: nuclear bombs and missiles

Number of warheads: 10-20 (in reserve)

These 8 countries openly declare the presence of weapons, as well as ongoing tests. The so-called "old" nuclear powers (USA, Russia, Great Britain, France and China) signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, while the "young" nuclear powers India and Pakistan refused to sign the document. North Korea first ratified the agreement, and then withdrew the signature.

Who can develop nuclear weapons now

The main suspect is Israel. Experts believe that Israel has been in possession of its own nuclear weapons since the late 1960s and early 1970s. Opinions were also expressed that the country was conducting joint tests with South Africa. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Israel has about 80 nuclear warheads in 2017. The country can use fighter-bombers and submarines to deliver nuclear weapons.

suspicions that Iraq develops weapons of mass destruction, was one of the reasons for the invasion of the country by American and British troops (recall the famous speech of US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN in 2003, in which he stated that Iraq was working on programs to create biological and chemical weapons and possessed two of three necessary components for the production of nuclear weapons. - Approx. TUT.BY). Later, the United States and Great Britain admitted that there were not enough grounds for the invasion in 2003.

10 years under international sanctions was Iran due to the resumption under President Ahmadinejad of the uranium enrichment program in the country. In 2015, Iran and six international mediators entered into a so-called "nuclear deal" - the sanctions were lifted, and Iran pledged to limit its nuclear activities only to the "peaceful atom", placing it under international control. With the coming to power of Donald Trump in the United States, sanctions were again imposed on Iran. Tehran, meanwhile, began testing ballistic missiles.

Myanmar in recent years, also suspected of trying to create nuclear weapons, it was reported that North Korea exported technology to the country. According to experts, Myanmar lacks the technical and financial capacity to develop weapons.

Over the years, many states have been suspected of striving or being able to create nuclear weapons - Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Libya, Mexico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Sweden. But the transition from a peaceful atom to a non-peaceful atom was either not proven, or the countries curtailed their programs.

Which countries allowed to store nuclear bombs, and who refused

US warheads are stored in some European countries. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in 2016, 150-200 US nuclear bombs are stored in underground storage facilities in Europe and Turkey. Countries have aircraft capable of delivering charges to their intended targets.

Bombs are stored at air bases in Germany(Büchel, more than 20 pieces), Italy(Aviano and Gedi, 70-110 pieces), Belgium(Kleine Brogel, 10-20 pieces), Netherlands(Volkel, 10-20 pieces) and Turkey(Incirlik, 50-90 pieces).

In 2015, it was reported that the Americans would place the latest B61-12 atomic bombs at a base in Germany, and American instructors would train Polish and Baltic Air Force pilots to work with these nuclear weapons.

Recently, the United States announced that they were negotiating the deployment of their nuclear weapons in South Korea, where they were stored until 1991.

Four countries voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons on their territory, including Belarus.

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were in third and fourth places in the world in terms of the number of nuclear arsenals in the world. The countries agreed to the withdrawal of weapons to Russia under international security guarantees. Kazakhstan handed over strategic bombers to Russia, and sold uranium to the USA. In 2008, President Nursultan Nazarbayev was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine in recent years, there has been talk of restoring the country's nuclear status. In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada proposed to cancel the law "On Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons." Earlier, Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov said that Kyiv is ready to use the available resources to create effective weapons.

AT Belarus the withdrawal of nuclear weapons was completed in November 1996. Subsequently, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly called this decision the most serious mistake. In his opinion, "if there were nuclear weapons left in the country, now they would talk to us differently."

South Africa is the only country that has independently manufactured nuclear weapons, and after the fall of the apartheid regime, voluntarily abandoned them.

Nuclear club countries list

Russia

• Russia received most of its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the USSR, when mass disarmament and the export of nuclear warheads to Russia were carried out at the military bases of the former Soviet republics.
• Officially, the country has a nuclear resource of 7,000 warheads and ranks first in the world in armament, of which 1,950 are in a deployed state.
• The former Soviet Union conducted its first test in 1949 with a ground launch of an RDS-1 rocket from the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan.
• The Russian position on nuclear weapons is to use them in response to a similar attack. Or in the case of attacks with conventional weapons, if it would threaten the existence of the country.

USA

• The case of two missiles dropped on two cities in Japan in 1945 is the first and only example of a combat atomic attack. So the United States became the first country to carry out an atomic explosion. Today it is also the country with the strongest army in the world. Official estimates report the presence of 6800 active units, of which 1800 are deployed in a combat state.
• The last US nuclear test was conducted in 1992. The US takes the position that it has enough weapons to protect itself and protect allied states from attack.

France

• After the Second World War, the country did not pursue the goal of developing its own weapons of mass destruction. However, after the Vietnam War and the loss of its colonies in Indochina, the country's government revised its views, and since 1960 it has been conducting nuclear tests, first in Algeria, and then on two uninhabited coral islands in French Polynesia.
• In total, the country conducted 210 tests, the most powerful of which were the Canopus of 1968 and the Unicorn of 1970. There is information about the presence of 300 nuclear warheads, 280 of which are located on deployed carriers.
• The scale of the world armed confrontation clearly demonstrated that the longer the French government ignores peaceful initiatives to deter weapons, the better for France. France joined the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty proposed by the UN in 1996 only in 1998.

China

• China. The first test of an atomic weapon, codenamed "596", China conducted in 1964, opening the way to the top five residents of the Nuclear Club.
• Modern China has 270 warheads in storage. Since 2011, the country has adopted a policy of minimal armament, which will be activated only in case of danger. And the developments of Chinese military scientists are not far behind the arms leaders, Russia and the United States, and since 2011 they have presented the world with four new modifications of ballistic weapons with the ability to load them with nuclear warheads.
• There is a joke that China is based on the number of its compatriots, who make up the largest diaspora in the world, when they talk about the “minimum required” number of combat units.

Great Britain

• Great Britain, as a true lady, although it is one of the leading Five nuclear powers, has not practiced such obscenity as atomic tests on its own territory. All tests were carried out away from the British lands, in Australia and in the Pacific Ocean.


• She began her nuclear career in 1952 with the activation of a nuclear bomb with a yield of more than 25 kilotons of TNT on board the Plym frigate, which anchored near the Pacific islands of Montebello. In 1991, the tests were terminated. Officially, the country has 215 charges, of which 180 are located on deployed carriers.
• The UK is actively opposed to the use of nuclear ballistic missiles, although there was a precedent in 2015 when Prime Minister David Cameron encouraged the international community with the message that the country, if desired, could demonstrate the launch of a couple of charges. In which direction the nuclear hello will fly, the minister did not specify.

Young nuclear powers

Pakistan

• Pakistan. Does not allow the common border with India and Pakistan to sign the "Non-Proliferation Treaty". In 1965, the country's foreign minister declared that Pakistan would be ready to start developing its own nuclear weapons if neighboring India began to sin in this way. His determination was so serious that for this he promised to put the whole country on bread and water, for the sake of protection from the armed provocations of India.
• The development of explosive devices has been a long process, with variable funding and capacity building since 1972. The country conducted its first tests in 1998 at the Chagai test site. There are about 120-130 nuclear charges in storage in the country.
• The emergence of a new player in the nuclear market forced many partner countries to impose a ban on the import of Pakistani goods into their territory, which could greatly undermine the country's economy. Luckily for Pakistan, it had a number of unofficial sponsors of nuclear testing. The largest revenue was oil from Saudi Arabia, which was imported into the country daily at 50,000 barrels.

India

• The homeland of the most cheerful films to participate in the nuclear race was pushed by the neighborhood with China and Pakistan. And if China has long been paying no attention to the positions of superpowers and India, and does not particularly oppress it, then a tough confrontation with its neighbor Pakistan, constantly turning into a state of armed conflict, spurs the country to constantly work on its potential and refuse to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty ".
• Nuclear power from the very beginning did not allow India to bully in the open, so the first test, codenamed "Smiling Buddha" in 1974, was carried out secretly, underground. All developments were classified so much that even the researchers notified their own Minister of Defense about the tests at the last moment.
• Officially, India admitted that yes, we sin, we have charges, only in the late 1990s. According to modern data, there are 110-120 units in storage in the country.

North Korea

• North Korea. The favorite move of the United States - as an argument in the negotiations "show strength" - back in the mid-1950s, the government of the DPRK did not like it very much. At that time, the United States actively intervened in the Korean War, allowing the atomic bombing of Pyongyang. The DPRK learned its lesson and set a course for the militarization of the country.
• Together with the army, which today is the fifth largest in the world, Pyongyang is conducting nuclear research, which until 2017 was not of particular interest to the world, since it was carried out under the auspices of space exploration, and relatively peacefully. Sometimes the neighboring lands of South Korea shook from medium-sized earthquakes of an incomprehensible nature, that's all the trouble.
• In early 2017, the “fake” news in the media that the United States was sending its aircraft carriers on meaningless promenades to the Korean coast left a residue, and the DPRK conducted six nuclear tests without much concealment. Today the country has 10 nuclear units in storage.
• How many other countries are conducting research on the development of nuclear weapons is unknown. To be continued.

Suspicions of possession of nuclear weapons

Several countries are known to be suspected of possessing nuclear weapons:

• Israel, like an old and wise roar, he is in no hurry to lay out cards on the table, but he does not directly deny the existence of nuclear weapons. The "Non-Proliferation Treaty" is also not signed, it invigorates worse than the morning snow. And all that the world has is only rumors about nuclear tests that "Promised" allegedly conducted since 1979 together with South Africa in the South Atlantic and the presence of 80 nuclear charges in storage.
• Iraq, according to unverified data, has been holding an unknown number of nuclear weapons for an unknown number of years. “Just because it can,” they said in the United States and at the beginning of the 2000s, along with the UK, brought troops into the country. They later offered their heartfelt apologies for being "mistaken". We didn't expect anything else, gentlemen.
• fell under the same suspicions Iran, because of the tests of the "peaceful atom" for the needs of energy. This was the reason for 10 years to impose sanctions on the country. In 2015, Iran undertook to report on research on uranium enrichment, and the country was exempted from sanctions.

Four countries removed all suspicions from themselves by officially refusing to participate "in these races of yours." Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine transferred all their capacities to Russia with the collapse of the USSR, although the President of Belarus A. Lukashenko sometimes take it, and even sigh with notes of nostalgia, that “If there were any weapons left, they would talk to us differently.” And South Africa, although once involved in the development of nuclear power, openly withdrew from the race and lives in peace.

Partly because of the contradictions of internal political forces opposed to nuclear policy, partly because of the lack of necessity. One way or another, some have transferred all their capacities to the energy sector for the cultivation of "peaceful atom", and some have abandoned their nuclear potential altogether (like Taiwan, after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine).

List of nuclear powers in the world for 2018

The powers that have such weapons in their arsenal are included in the so-called "Nuclear Club". Intimidation and world domination are the reasons for the research and manufacture of atomic weapons.

USA

• First nuclear bomb test - 1945
• Last - 1992

Takes 1st place in the number of warheads among nuclear powers. In 1945, for the first time in the world, the first Trinity bomb was detonated. In addition to a large number of warheads, the US has missiles with a range of 13,000 km that can deliver nuclear weapons to that distance.

Russia

• First tested a nuclear bomb in 1949 at the Semipalatinsk test site
• The last one was in 1990.

Russia is the rightful successor of the USSR and a power that has nuclear weapons. And for the first time the country carried out an explosion of a nuclear bomb in 1949 and by 1990 there were about 715 tests in total. The Tsar bomb is the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the world. Its capacity is 58.6 megatons of TNT. Its development was carried out in the USSR in 1954-1961. under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov. Tested on October 30, 1961 at the Dry Nose test site.

In 2014, President V.V. Putin changed the military doctrine of the Russian Federation, as a result of which the country reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, as well as any other, if it is threatened the very existence of the state.

For 2017, Russia in its arsenal has launchers for missile systems of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear combat missiles (Topol-M, YARS). The Navy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has ballistic missile submarines. The Air Force has long-range strategic bombers. The Russian Federation is rightfully considered one of the leaders among the powers possessing nuclear weapons, and one of the technologically advanced.

Great Britain

USA's best friend.

• She first tested the atomic bomb in 1952.
• Last test: 1991

Officially joined the nuclear club. The US and UK have been longtime partners and have been cooperating on the nuclear issue since 1958, when a mutual defense treaty was signed between the countries. The country does not seek to reduce nuclear weapons, but does not increase their production in view of the policy of deterring neighboring states and aggressors. The number of warheads in stock is not disclosed.

France

• In 1960, she conducted the first test.
• The last time was in 1995.

The first explosion was carried out on the territory of Algeria. A thermonuclear explosion was tested in 1968 on the Mururoa atoll in the South Pacific and since that time more than 200 weapons of mass destruction tests have been carried out. The state aspired to its independence and officially began to possess deadly - striking weapons.

China

• First test - 1964
• Last - 1996

The state has officially declared that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, and also guarantees not to use it against countries that do not have lethal weapons.

India

• First nuclear bomb test - 1974
• Last - 1998

It officially recognized that it had nuclear weapons only in 1998 after successful underground explosions at the Pokharan test site.

Pakistan

• First tested weapons - May 28, 1998
• Last time - May 30, 1998

In response to nuclear weapons explosions in India, a series of underground tests were conducted in 1998.

North Korea

• 2006 - first explosion
• 2016 is the last one.

In 2005, the leadership of the DPRK announced the creation of a dangerous bomb and in 2006 conducted its first underground test. The second time the explosion was carried out in 2009. And in 2012, it officially declared itself a nuclear power. In recent years, the situation on the Korean peninsula has escalated, and the DPRK periodically threatens the United States with a nuclear bomb if it continues to interfere in the conflict with South Korea.

Israel

• allegedly tested a nuclear warhead in 1979.

The country is not officially the owner of nuclear weapons. The State does not deny or confirm the presence of nuclear weapons. But there is evidence that Israel has such warheads.

Iran

The world community accuses this power of creating nuclear weapons, but the state declares that it does not possess such weapons and is not going to produce them. Research was carried out only for peaceful purposes, and that scientists have mastered the entire cycle of uranium enrichment and only for peaceful purposes.

South Africa

The state possessed nuclear weapons in the form of missiles, but voluntarily destroyed them. There is information that Israel assisted in the creation of the bombs.

History of occurrence

The beginning of the creation of a deadly bomb was laid in 1898, when the spouses Pierre and Maria Suladovskaya-Curie discovered that some substance in uranium releases a huge amount of energy. Subsequently, Ernest Rutherford studied the atomic nucleus, and his colleagues Ernest Walton and John Cockcroft in 1932 first split the atomic nucleus. And in 1934 Leo Szilard patented the nuclear bomb.

Types of nuclear weapons

• Atomic bomb - the release of energy occurs due to nuclear fission
• Hydrogen (thermonuclear) - the energy of the explosion occurs first as a result of nuclear fission, and then nuclear fusion.

At the heart of a nuclear explosion, damage occurs due to the mechanical impact of a shock wave, the thermal effect of a light wave, radioactive exposure and radioactive contamination.

As a result of the shock wave, unprotected people can be injured and contused. Mechanical damage, depending on the power, will cause destruction to buildings and houses. The light wave can cause burns on the body and retinal burns. As a result of the thermal effect of a light wave, fires occur. Radioactive contamination and radiation sickness are the result of radioactive exposure.

North Korea has successfully tested an intercontinental missile, but it is not the only country that threatens the world with nuclear weapons.

The US military believes that another missile launched by the DPRK belongs to the class of intercontinental missiles. Experts say that it is capable of reaching Alaska, which means that it poses a direct threat to the United States.

"A Gift for the Yankees"

The Hwangson-14 missile was launched by North Korea on the morning of Tuesday, July 4. On this day, America celebrates Independence Day. The rocket flew 933 km in 39 minutes - not far, but that's because it was launched very high. The highest point of the trajectory was at a distance of 2,802 km above sea level.

Rocket "Hwanseong-14" before launch. Photo: Reuters/KCNA

She fell into the sea between North Korea and Japan.

But if Pyongyang had a goal to attack any country, the missile would be able to cover a distance of 7000-8000 km, which is enough to reach not only Japan, but also Alaska.

North Korea says it is capable of equipping its missile with a nuclear warhead. Nuclear weapons experts doubt whether Pyongyang currently has the technology to produce sufficiently compact warheads.

However, the Hwangseong-14 tests happened earlier and were more successful than expected, John Schilling, an American missile weapons expert, told Reuters.

"Even if it's a 7,000-km-range missile, a 10,000-km-range missile that could hit New York is not a distant prospect," Middlebury Institute for International Studies' East Asia Nonproliferation Program Director told The New York Times. Geoffrey Lewis.

Approximate range of the Hwangseong-14 missile. Infographic: CNN

The launch showed that no sanctions on the DPRK are in effect. On the contrary, threats only stimulate the country's leader Kim Jong-un to continue to clap weapons and demonstrate the power of his arsenal.

After the test, he, according to the North Korean State News Agency, said that the US would not like the "package of gifts for their Independence Day." Kim Jong-un ordered scientists and the military to "send big and small 'gift packages' to the Yankees more often."

China and Russia issued a joint statement calling on North Korea to halt its missile and nuclear programs and the US and South Korea to refrain from large-scale military exercises.

However, Washington did not heed the calls of Moscow and Beijing. On Wednesday morning, they held demonstration launches of Hyunmu II missiles, which are capable of hitting targets at a distance of 800 km.

Tensions are rising and the world is talking about nuclear war again. However, North Korea is not the only country capable of starting it. Today, seven more countries officially possess a nuclear arsenal. Israel can be safely added to them, although it has never officially admitted that it possesses nuclear weapons.

Russia is the leader in terms of

The US and Russia together own 93% of the world's nuclear arsenal.

Distribution of the world nuclear arsenal. Infographic: Arms Control Association, Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris, U. S. Department of State

According to official and unofficial estimates, the Russian Federation has a total of 7,000 nuclear weapons. Such data are provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the American organization Arms Control Association.

According to the data exchanged between the Russian Federation and the United States under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, as of April 2017, Russia had 1,765 strategic warheads.

They are deployed on 523 long-range missiles, submarines and strategic bombers. But this is only about deployed, that is, ready-to-use nuclear weapons.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) estimates that Russia has approximately 2,700 non-deployed strategic, as well as deployed and non-deployed tactical warheads. In addition, 2,510 warheads are awaiting dismantling.

Russia, according to a number of publications on the National Interest website, is modernizing its nuclear weapons. And in some positions ahead of its main enemy - the United States.

It is on them that the power of the Russian nuclear potential is mainly directed. And Russian propagandists do not get tired of reminding us of this. The brightest in this case was, of course, Dmitry Kiselev with his "nuclear ashes".

However, there are also opposite estimates, according to which the lion's share of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads is hopelessly outdated.

USA at a crossroads

In total, the Americans currently have 6,800 nuclear weapons. Of these, deployed, according to the data of the treaty on the reduction of strategic weapons in April 2017, 1411 strategic warheads. They are deployed on 673 long-range missiles, submarines and strategic bombers.

FAS estimates that the US also has 2,300 non-deployed strategic warheads and 500 deployed and non-deployed tactical warheads. And another 2,800 warheads are waiting to be dismantled.

With its arsenal, the United States threatens many opponents, not only Russia.

For example, the same North Korea and Iran. However, according to many experts, it is outdated and needs to be modernized.

Interestingly, in 2010, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the aforementioned strategic arms reduction treaty, also known as the New Start. But the same Obama stimulated the deployment of a missile defense system in the US and Europe, his administration launched the process of developing and deploying new ground-based launchers for long-range missiles.

The Trump administration has plans to continue the process of modernizing weapons, including nuclear,

Nuclear Europe

Among the countries of Europe, the only ones with a nuclear arsenal are France and the United Kingdom. The first one is armed with 300 nuclear warheads. Most of them are equipped to launch from submarines. France has four of them. A small amount - for air launch, from strategic bombers.

The British have 120 strategic warheads. Of these, 40 are deployed at sea on four submarines. This is, in fact, the country's only type of nuclear weapon - it has neither ground nor air forces armed with nuclear warheads.

In addition, there are 215 warheads in the UK that are stored at bases but not deployed.

Secret China

Since Beijing has never made public information about its nuclear arsenal, it can only be judged approximately. In June 2016, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists suggested that overall, China has 260 nuclear warheads. Also available information indicates that it increases their number.

China also has all three of the main means of delivering nuclear weapons - land-based installations, nuclear submarines and strategic bombers.

One of China's latest intercontinental ballistic missiles, Dongfeng-41 (DF41), was located near the border with Russia in January 2017. But in addition to its difficult relationship with Moscow, Beijing also has tense relations with neighboring India.

There is also an unconfirmed theory that China is helping North Korea develop its nuclear program.

sworn neighbors

India and Pakistan, unlike the previous five countries, develop their nuclear program outside the framework of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. At the same time, both countries have a long-standing enmity, regularly threaten each other with the use of force, and armed incidents regularly occur on the Indo-Pakistani border.

But in addition, they also have other conflict relations. For India it is China, and for Pakistan it is Israel.

Both countries do not hide the fact that they have a nuclear program, but their details are not publicly disclosed.

India is believed to have between 100 and 120 nuclear warheads in service. The country is actively developing its arsenal. One of the latest achievements was the successful testing of the Agni-5 and Agni-6 intercontinental missiles, which are capable of delivering a warhead to a distance of 5,000-6,000 km.

At the end of 2016, India took delivery of its first nuclear submarine, the Arihant. It also plans to buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons from France by 2019. The country currently has several older aircraft for this purpose - the French Mirage, the Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar and the Russian Su-30.

Pakistan is armed with 110 to 130 nuclear warheads. The country began to develop a nuclear program after India conducted the first test of a nuclear weapon in 1974. She is also in the process of expanding her arsenal.

At present, Pakistan's nuclear missiles are short and medium range. There are rumors that he is developing the Taimur intercontinental missile with a range of 7,000 km. The country also intends to build its own nuclear submarine. And the Mirage and F16 planes that Pakistan has are rumored to have been modified to carry nuclear weapons.

Israel's Deliberate Ambiguity

SIPRI, FAS and other organizations that monitor the development of nuclear weapons in the world claim that Israel has 80 nuclear warheads in service. In addition, it has stockpiles of fissile material to make another 200 warheads.

Israel, like India and Pakistan, has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, thus retaining the right to develop it. But unlike India and Pakistan, he has never announced his nuclear program and pursues a so-called policy of deliberate ambiguity in this matter.

In practice, this means that Israel never confirms or refutes the assumption that it has nuclear weapons.

It is believed that Israel developed nuclear warheads in a secret underground factory located in the middle of the desert. It is also assumed to possess all three of the main delivery vehicles: ground launchers, submarines, and combat aircraft.

Israel is understandable. It is surrounded on all sides by hostile states that do not hide their desire to "throw Israel into the sea." However, the policy of ambiguity is often criticized by those who see it as a manifestation of double standards.

Iran, which also tried to develop a nuclear program, was severely punished for this. Israel has not experienced any sanctions.

The total number of nuclear warheads in the world today is over 20,000, according to data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). More than half of this number - 11 thousand - is kept in the arsenal of the RF Armed Forces.

A report published today on the SIPRI website reveals that the world's eight nuclear powers have a total of 20,530 nuclear warheads. Of these, 5027 are in the expanded state. The leading position here is occupied by Russia: at the disposal of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) 2427 missiles with nuclear warheads. The United States is slightly inferior in this regard - it has 2,150 deployed nuclear warheads. Almost 300 similar missiles are in France, and almost half as many - in the UK.

However, 5,000 deployed warheads are just the tip of the world's nuclear iceberg. The number of combat nuclear warheads mothballed in military depots exceeds this figure by three times. The strategic nuclear stockpiles of the big atomic five - Russia, the USA, France, Great Britain and China - as well as India, Pakistan and Israel that have joined them, amount to 15,500 warheads.

Russia remains the undisputed leader here as well, capable of equipping 8,570 missiles with nuclear warheads. The United States is not far behind, with 6,350 warheads stored in its warehouses. On account of the UK and France, respectively, 65 and 10 nuclear shells. China's entire nuclear arsenal of 200 warheads is kept in a non-deployed state. The military nuclear potential of Delhi and Karachi is estimated at 80-100 warheads in India and 90-100 in Pakistan. Israel, according to experts, has 80 nuclear warheads.

While the major nuclear powers are making efforts for global nuclear disarmament, analysts note the growth of military nuclear potential in third world countries. Thus, within the framework of the agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on the reduction of strategic and offensive arms (START-3), Russia reduced its arsenal by a thousand nuclear warheads. The United States cut its offensive stocks proportionately by 900 units. But India and Pakistan, judging by the calculations of experts, have increased their combat power by about 20 nuclear warheads each.

Note that, according to the US State Department, which published its report on American strategic capabilities a few days ago, the United States has more warheads than Russia. The report states that the Americans have 882 deployed ballistic missiles, while Russia has only 521. At the same time, the United States has 1,800 nuclear warheads in total, and the Russian Federation has 1,537.

The published information was the result of the exchange of data between the nuclear powers under the START-3 agreement. Exchange of information, when the US handed over its database to Russian counterparts, however, without indicating specific numbers.

Meanwhile, the implementation of START-3 remains under threat due to disagreements between Russia and the United States over American missile defense in Europe. In mid-May, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened to withdraw from the treaty if the Americans continue to deploy their weapons in European countries. Earlier, the head of the main operational department of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Andrey Tretyak, said that the deployment of the American missile defense system (ABM) near the Russian borders is for our nuclear deterrence forces (SNF). The research organizations of the Ministry of Defense came to such conclusions in the course of analyzing plans for the modernization of the US missile defense system.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) establishes that states that carried out a nuclear explosion before January 1, 1967 are recognized as nuclear powers. Thus, de jure, the "nuclear club" includes Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France and China.

India and Pakistan are de facto nuclear states, but de jure they are not.

The first test of a nuclear charger was carried out by India on May 18, 1974. On May 11 and 13, 1998, according to the statement of the Indian side, five nuclear charges were tested, one of which was thermonuclear. India is a consistent critic of the NPT and still remains outside its framework.

A special group, according to experts, consists of non-nuclear states capable of creating nuclear weapons, but refraining, due to political and military inexpediency, from becoming nuclear states - the so-called "latent" nuclear states (Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and others).

Three states (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan), which had on their territory nuclear weapons left after the collapse of the Soviet Union, signed in 1992 the Lisbon Protocol to the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. By signing the Lisbon Protocol, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus acceded to the NPT and were included in the list of countries that do not possess nuclear weapons.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources