By publishing the US nuclear arsenal figures, the Joe Bidan administration breaks Donald Trump’s decision to keep secret of such information.
Le Monde with AFP.
For four years, the information remained a mystery. But the administration of Joe Biden decided to return to Donald Trump’s decision to classify “Secret-Defense” the figures of the American nuclear arsenal. Washington has thus revealed, Tuesday, October 5, that the United States held 3,750 nuclear heads as of September 30, 2020.
“The United States publish new information declassed on the US nuclear arsenal, in order to update information published in September 2017,” said the State Department in a statement.
“Transparency on arsenals of nuclear States is important for non-proliferation and disarmament efforts, including commitments to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adds American diplomacy.
Since September 30, 2017, the United States has continued to modernize their nuclear arsenal, dismantling 711 nuclear heads, but reducing their total number of 72, according to new official figures.
The 3,750 US nuclear heads represent a reduction of 88% of the US nuclear arsenal with respect to its highest nuclear heads, reached in 1967, at the strongest of the Cold War.
2,000 additional heads waiting for dismantling
The official figure of the American arsenal includes the active heads (operational and deployed, or deployable quickly) and inactive (non-operational and deposit), but not the so-called “removed” heads because obsolete. It is necessary to add some 2,000 nuclear heads waiting for dismantling.
These figures are published when the Biden administration agreed with Russia to set up a working group on future armaments control measures of these two nuclear powers.
According to the International Research Institute of Stockholm (SIPRI), whose figures include the nuclear heads called “withdrawn”, Russia had in January 2021 of 6,255 nuclear weapons, compared with 5,550 for the United States. United and 350 hard for China.