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| the Comparison of Russian and NATO Nuclear Weapons |
International Military - Nuclear weapons are a frightening specter for the survival of the world in the future. Not without reason, this is based on the destructive power of nuclear weapons owned by several countries, including Russia and the United States. Moreover, following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine since February 2022, Vladimir Putin has even mentioned using nuclear if there are other countries that interfere with his country's territorial integrity.
So, how does Russia's nuclear arsenal compare with NATO's?
Quoted from the Sky News page, the Federation of American Scientists says that Russia has a total inventory of 5,977 nuclear warheads. This magnitude makes it the largest in the world. Furthermore, The Bulletin of the Atomic said that this Russian arsenal includes about 4,447 warheads and about 1,588 of them are deployed in the form of ballistic missiles and bomber bases.
In addition, it is also said that there are around 977 strategic warheads along with 1,912 non-strategic warheads stored as reserves. However, experts say the exact number Russia has is unknown, given the tight secrecy surrounding the country's strategy and security.
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Looking at one of its types, Russia has an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which is claimed to have the ability to reach major cities in the world such as Washington DC or London. Defense expert Sir Richard Barrons once said that Vladimir Putin had started to satirize the issue of nuclear weapons at the global level. According to him, the intercontinental ballistic missile is estimated to have a forward warhead of between 300-800 kilotons. In fact, with 300 kilotons alone is enough to destroy Paris or Washington.
Then for NATO itself it is known that not all member countries have nuclear weapons. Some of them that have are the United States, France, to England. Quoted from Euro News, Britain and France are European countries that have nuclear weapons. It is estimated that they have a total of 515 nuclear warheads, of which about 400 are ready for use.
France has nuclear missiles launched from submarines and nuclear cruise missiles launched from aircraft. While Britain only has nuclear weapons launched from submarines. As for the United States, they have a total of about 5,428 nuclear warheads. Of this figure, around 3,708 are operating and the rest are intended to be dismantled first.