India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time: says Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) ::: "Dangers associated with nuclear weapons were growing"

India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time: Sipri report

India possesses an estimated 190 nuclear warheads. Its nuclear policy strictly maintains a No-First-Use (NFU) posture, emphasizing credible minimum deterrence and massive retaliation against a nuclear strike

As of January 2026, India had deployed 12 nuclear warheads while China had 34. 

In the case of China, it was an increase from 24 in 2025.

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

India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time, according to the annual report of Sipri, a global watchdog on arms control. 

Data reveals that India deployed 12 nuclear warheads in 2025, and China increased the number of deployed warheads from 24 to 34.

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India has deployed nuclear warheads for the first time, shows data from Sipri, a Swedish think tank on conflict, armaments, and arms control. The report reveals India deployed 12 warheads, and China increased the number of deployed warheads to 34 in 2025.

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

"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.

This would be the first time that the Sipri report shows a part of India's nuclear warheads as operationally deployed, while most of them remained in stockpile.

While the report suggests that Pakistan has not deployed any nuclear warheads, SIPRI's 2024 report estimated that China had deployed 24, reflecting Beijing's growing emphasis on a ready nuclear deterrent.

In May 2025, India and Pakistan — two countries with nuclear weapons — fought a four-day war. 

With Pakistan using its warheads to blackmail, India, in a way, called its nuclear bluff.  

The data in Sipri's 2026 Yearbook assesses the nuclear stockpile for the previous year, which is 2025 in this case. It was in 2025 that India and Pakistan were involved in a brief military confrontation.

The report, however, does not specify when or under what circumstances India might have deployed nuclear warheads alongside launch systems.

"... World events — not least the outbreak of conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan — are challenging nuclear deterrence logic," noted Sipri, adding that dangers associated with nuclear weapons were growing.  

The Sipri counts nine countries with nuclear warheads. The countries are the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. The annual report said that 2,100–2,200 of the deployed warheads were kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles.

"Nearly all of these warheads belonged to Russia or the USA, and, to a lesser extent, France and the UK, but China and India may now occasionally deploy a small number of warheads mounted on missiles during peacetime," it said.  

Hope Pak will be held accountable: India condemns massacre of Kashmiris in POK

The remarks come days after a crackdown by Pakistani authorities in Rawalakot reportedly left at least 27 people dead. While official figures have put the death toll at 27, videos circulating on social media have claimed that the number of casualties may be significantly higher.  

Responding to reports emerging from the region, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had observed a "pattern of fake news and videos emanating from Pakistan" and described it as a desperate attempt to cover up its own failings.