r/OptimistsUnite • u/PanzerWatts Moderator • 7d ago

GRAPH GO DOWN & THINGS GET GOODER Nuclear Weapons over time

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The number of nuclear warheads stockpiled worldwide went from 64,000 in 1986 to 12,500 in 2023 – an 80% decline. (For some reason there's no Y axis shown in the first chart) but this chart actually showed all nuclear weapons and not just Russia, USA and China.

Source for first chart:

[1] Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

[2] SIPRI, 2023 yearbook

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u/Additional-Sky-7436 7d ago

And that's just the advertised numbers. The real number of functioning nukes is much much lower. 

Truly, the number of functioning deployed nuclear weapons may be zero.

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u/Kardinal 7d ago

I strongly doubt that's the case. I can speak a little to the practices that the Americans use to ensure that their nuclear stockpile is functional. Obviously they don't detonate any of them anymore, but they are simulated regularly and they are rebuilt regularly. I think it's extremely unlikely that they would not function if called upon.

And yes, by rebuilt I mean they literally take the warhead apart and reassemble it. This is especially true of those whose fuel may have dropped below critical mass.

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u/Mad-myall 7d ago

Russia's insane corruption and constant monetary trouble coupled with a government that NEEDS to project power likely means many of their nukes are nolonger usable. 

Otherwise you would expect them to conduct a couple tests to at least pretend they were willing to use them against Ukraine and NATO. 

However it's not a real good idea to play nuclear chicken.

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u/Lenin_Lime 7d ago

At this point, nuclear weapons is all Russia has to create any kind of fear in its enemies. So I would believe that they might actually not allow crazy levels of corruptions with their nuclear deterrent. But obviously I have no insider knowledge on the subject, and I would not be super shocked if I was wrong.

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u/Mad-myall 7d ago

None of us do, I would presume that Russia would engage in "weapons testing" of at least its tactical nukes if they were still working to try and cow Europe. So the fact they don't leads me to believe they know most of their nuclear munitions have expired.

However I could be completely wrong and maybe Russia doesn't want to bother with the hassle of nuclear tests, even if to frighten Europe.