Weapons
In 2002, President Bush and Russian President Putin signed the Moscow Treaty, which will reduce the number of both countries' operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,700 to 2,200 by 2012. In addition to this treaty, President Bush directed in 2004 that the size of the overall nuclear weapons stockpile (both reserve and operationally deployed) be reduced nearly 50 percent from the time he entered office by 2012. That goal was met five years early. President Bush has further directed that the stockpile be reduced almost 15 percent more by 2012. Currently, the stockpile is the smallest it has been since the Eisenhower administration.
The last nuclear weapon in the current stockpile was produced in 1991. President George H.W. Bush instituted a moratorium on conducting underground nuclear tests in 1992. This moratorium has been renewed by each President since.
The total number of nuclear weapons and the quantity of each type of weapon in the U.S. stockpile is classified for national security purposes.
Weapon |
Type |
Delivery System |
Primary Use |
Service |
Entered Stockpile |
W62 |
ICBM |
Minuteman III |
Surface to Surface |
Air Force |
1970 |
W78 |
ICBM |
Minuteman III |
Surface to Surface |
Air Force |
1979 |
W87 |
ICBM |
Minuteman III |
Surface to Surface |
Air Force |
1986 |
W76 |
SLBM |
Trident I (C4) Trident II (D5) |
Underwater to Surface |
Navy |
1978 |
W88 |
SLBM |
Trident II (D5) |
Underwater to Surface |
Navy |
1989 |
B61-3/4/10 |
Bomb |
F-15, F-16 |
Air to Surface |
Air Force |
1979/1990 |
B61-7/11 |
Bomb |
B-52H, B-2A |
Air to Surface |
Air Force |
1985/1996 |
B83 |
Bomb |
B-52H, B-2A |
Air to Surface |
Air Force |
1983 |
W80-0/1 |
Missile* |
SSN Submarine B-52H |
Underwater to Surface Air to Surface |
Navy Air Force |
1984/1982 |
ICBM = Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
SLBM = Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile
* The W80-0 is designed to be launched on a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) from a SSN Attack Submarine. The W80-1 is desinged to be launched on an air-launched cruise missile from a B-52H bomber.
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