United States nuclear weapons, 2022

Figures & data

Table 1. United States nuclear forces, 2022.

Type/Designation	No.	Yeardeployed	Warheadsx yield (kilotons)	Warheads(total available)^a
ICBMs
LGM-30 G Minuteman III
Mk-12A	200	1979	1–3 W78 x 335 (MIRV)	600^b
Mk-21/SERV	200	2006^c	1 W87 x 300	200^d
Total	400^e			800^f
SLBMs
UGM-133A Trident II D5/LE 14/280^g
Mk-4A		2008^h	1–8 W76-1 x 90 (MIRV)	1,511^i
Mk-4A		2019	1–2 W76-2 x 8 (MIRV)^j	25^k
Mk-5		1990	1–8 W88 x 455 (MIRV)	384
Total	14/280			1,920^l
Bombers
B-52 H Stratofortress	87/46^m	1961	ALCM/W80-1 x 5–150	500
B-2A Spirit	20/20	1994	B61-7 x 10–360/-11 x 400	288
			B83-1 x low-1,200
Total	107/66^n			788^o
Total strategic forces				3,508
Nonstrategic forces
F-15E, F-16C/D, DCA	n/a	1979	1–5 B61-3/-4 bombs x 0.3–170^p	200
Total				200^q
Total stockpile				3,708
Deployed				1,744^r
Reserve (hedge and spares)				1,964
Retired, awaiting dismantlement				1,720
Total Inventory				5,428

ALCM: air-launched cruise missile; DCA: dual-capable aircraft; ICBM: intercontinental ballistic missile; LGM: silo-launched ground-attack missile; MIRV: multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle; SERV: security-enhanced re-entry vehicle; SLBM: submarine-launched ballistic missile.

^aLists total warheads available. Only a portion of these are deployed with launchers. See individual endnotes for details.

^bRoughly 200 of these are deployed on 200 Minuteman IIIs equipped with the Mk-12A re-entry vehicle. The rest are in central storage.

^cThe W87 was initially deployed on the MX/Peacekeeper in 1986 but first transferred to the Minuteman in 2006.

^dThe 200 Mk21-equipped ICBMs can each carry one W87. The estimated remaining 340 W87s are in storage. Excess W87 pits are planned for use in the W78 Replacement Program, previously designated IW-1 but now called W87-1.

^eAnother 50 ICBMs are in storage for potential deployment in 50 empty silos.

^fOf these ICBM warheads, 400 are deployed on operational missiles and the rest are in long-term storage.

^gThe first figure is the total number of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in the US fleet; the second is the maximum number of missiles that they can carry. However, although the 14 SSBNs can carry up to 280 missiles, 2 vessels are normally undergoing refueling overhaul at any given time and are not assigned missiles. The remaining 12 SSBNs can carry up to 240 missiles, but 1 or 2 of these vessels are usually undergoing maintenance at any given time and may not be carrying missiles. The life-extended Trident II D5LE is replacing the original missile.

^hThe W76-1 is a life-extended version of the W76-0 that was first deployed in 1978.

ⁱAll W76-0 warheads are thought to have now been replaced on ballistic missile submarines by W76-1 warheads, but several hundred are still awaiting dismantlement.

^jThe W76-2 is a single-stage low-yield modification of the W76-1 with an estimated yield of 8 kilotons.

^kAssumes two SLBMs, each with one W76-2, available for each deployable SSBN.

^lOf these SLBM warheads, approximately 944 are deployed on missiles loaded in ballistic missile submarine launchers.

^mOf the 87 B-52s, 76 are in the active inventory. Of those, 46 are nuclear-capable, of which less than 40 are normally deployed.

ⁿThe first figure is the total aircraft inventory, including those used for training, testing, and back-up; the second is the portion of the primary-mission aircraft inventory estimated to be tasked with nuclear missions. The United States has a total of 66 nuclear-capable bombers (46 B-52s and 20 B-2s), but normally only about 50 nuclear bombers are deployed, with the remaining aircraft in overhaul.

^oOf these bomber weapons, only about 300 are deployed at bomber bases. These include an estimated 200 ALCMs at Minot Air Force Base and approximately 100 bombs at Whiteman Air Force Base. The remaining weapons are in long-term storage. B-52H aircraft are no longer tasked with delivering gravity bombs.

^pThe F-15E can carry up to 5 B61s. Some tactical B61s in Europe are available for NATO DCAs (F-16MLU, PA-200). The maximum yield of the B61-3 is 170 kt, while the maximum yield of the B61-4 is 50 kt.

^qAn estimated 100 B61-3 and −4 bombs are deployed in Europe, of which about 60 are earmarked for use by NATO aircraft. The remaining 100 bombs are in central storage in the United States as backup and contingency missions in the Indo-Pacific region.

^rDeployed warheads include approximately 1,344 on ballistic missiles (400 on ICBMs and 944 on SLBMs), 300 weapons at heavy bomber bases, and 100 nonstrategic bombs deployed in Europe.

Figure 1. A B-52H bomber is loaded with AGM-86B nuclear (unarmed) air-launched cruise missiles during exercise Prairie Vigilance at Minot AFB in August 2021. Image: USAF.

Figure 2. A new underground nuclear weapons storage facility is under construction at F.E. Warren AFB for storage of W78 and W87 warheads for Minuteman III ICBMs. Image: © 2022 Maxar Technologies.

Figure 3. A B61-12 guided nuclear bomb is dropped from an F-35A. The B61-12 will enter full-scale production in May 2022 and probably begin deploying to bases in Europe in 2023. Image: USAF.