India has deployed 12 nuclear warheads, first in peacetime, shows Sipri data

India has deployed 12 nuclear warheads, which is reportedly a first, shows data from Sipri, a Swedish think tank on conflict, armaments and arms control. The report also reveals that China has increased the number of nuclear warheads it deployed to 34 from the 24 in 2025.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Monday made public its SIPRI Yearbook 2026 in which it said that countries now were "increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of national power".

The report said that approximately 4,012 nuclear warheads remain deployed with missiles and aircraft.

"Of the total global inventory of an estimated 12,187 warheads in January 2026, about 9,745 were in military stockpiles for potential use," said the Sipri report.

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