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US Reveals Nuclear Bomb Numbers After Trump Blackout

US Reveals Nuclear Bomb Numbers After Trump Blackout

Last week, Russian and US diplomats held talks in Geneva to determine controls on conventional weapons. The Defense Post, 6 Oct 21, The US State Department published on Tuesday the number of nuclear warheads the country stockpiles for the first time in four years, after former president Donald Trump placed a blackout on the data.

As of September 30, 2020, the US military maintained 3,750 active and inactive nuclear warheads, down by 55 from a year earlier and by 72 from the same date in 2017.

The figure was also the lowest level since the US nuclear stockpile peaked at the height of the Cold War with Russia in 1967, when the total was 31,255 warheads.

The numbers were released Tuesday amid an effort by the administration of President Joe Biden to restart arms controls talks with Russia after they stalled under Trump………….

Biden, who came in to office on January 20, immediately proposed a five-year extension to New Start, which Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed to.

The deal caps at 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington.

Last week, Russian and US diplomats held talks behind closed doors in Geneva to begin discussions on a successor to New Start and also controls on conventional weapons.

A US official called the talks “productive,” but both sides said the mere fact of holding the talks was positive.

According to a January 2021 tally by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which includes retired warheads — not counted in the State Department’s numbers — the United States had 5,550 warheads, compared to 6,255 in Russia, 350 in China, 225 in Britain, and 290 in France.

India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea have together around 460 nuclear warheads, according to the institute.  https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/10/06/us-nuclear-bomb-numbers/

October 7, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war