FAS In-Depth: July 19, 2012 India's Nuclear Forces

FAS In-Depth: July 19, 2012

India's Nuclear Arsenal

India's Nuclear Forces

This week, Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project, and Dr. Robert S. Norris, senior fellow for Nuclear Policy, published the new installment of the Nuclear Notebook in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists regarding India's nuclear forces. India is estimated to have produced approximately 520 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, sufficient for 100 to 130 nuclear warheads; however, not all of the material has been converted into warheads. Based on available information, Kristensen and Norris estimate that India currently has 80 to 100 nuclear warheads for its emerging Triad of air-, land-, and sea-based nuclear-capable delivery vehicles. On April 19, 2012, India successfully launched their Agni V ballistic missile, which has a range of greater than 5,000 kilometers and is capable of reaching any location in China. However, there is additional testing needed and it is a few years away from operational deployment. Kristensen and Norris state that India will need more warheads to arm the new missiles they are currently developing. Other signs that India is growing its arsenal include the construction of a second plutonium production reactor on the east coast and the development of an unsafeguarded prototype fast-breeder reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, which once operational, will increase India's plutonium processing capabilities. To read the Nuclear Notebook click here. For more information on India and their nuclear arsenal, check out these FAS resources and much more on our website. FAS Programs and Resources: Nuclear Information Project- Status of World's Nuclear Forces, 2012 Strategic Security Blog Nuclear Weapons: India's Nuclear Forces India Special Weapons Guide Factsheet: Indian Nuclear Explosions Congressional Research Service Reports: U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress India’s Nuclear Separation Plan: Issues and Views Nuclear Weapons R&D Organizations in Nine Nations Nuclear Threat Reduction Measures for India and Pakistan U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation: A Side-By-Side Comparison of Current Legislation India: Domestic Issues, Strategic Dynamics, and U.S. Relations Other Resources: Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century: Prospects and Policy (Dr. Richard L. Garwin) Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century (Stephen M. Younger, Los Alamos National Laboratory) Indian Special Weapons Agencies (Department of Atomic Energy)