Newsweek: the United States considers Russian stocks of tactical nuclear weapons to be a threat
The United States believes that the Russian arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons is much larger than the American one, writes Newsweek. Neither country discloses data on its stocks of this type of weapons. But the United States does not tire of claiming that Russia is significantly ahead of them.
Ellie Cook
The large-scale exercises of the Russian nuclear forces and Moscow's decision to deploy its systems in Belarus have brought its tactical nuclear arsenal back into the spotlight.
Britain's chief of the Defense Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said this month that "from Russia we are witnessing wild threats of the use of nuclear weapons, large-scale nuclear exercises and simulated attacks on NATO countries."
"All this is aimed at forcing us to refrain from actions necessary to maintain stability," Radakin said, speaking in London.
NATO countries are witnessing "the beginning of the third nuclear age," Radakin added. It was preceded by a previous era of striving for disarmament and combating the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and before that era there was an initial surge in the nuclear arms race during the Cold War.
Together, Russia and the United States own approximately 90% of all strategic and tactical nuclear weapons in the world.
Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, tactical nuclear weapons are designed for use on the battlefield or in a specific theater of operations. Tactical nuclear weapons have a lower warhead capacity and are designed to be used for other purposes than strategic nuclear weapons. The number of strategic nuclear weapons is limited in accordance with the START-3 Treaty, which expires in 2026.
Strategic nuclear weapons include intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles launched from submarines, as well as from bombers. It is believed that such missiles are capable of wiping out entire cities and posing a threat to world superpowers.
"The implication is that they will cause less damage,— the International Campaign for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons NGO said earlier. "However, the power of such warheads is up to 300 kilotons, that is, they are 20 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima."
Strategic nuclear weapons are subject to restrictions in accordance with the START-3 Treaty, tactical nuclear weapons and their warheads are not limited by any international agreements.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has handed over Iskander-M tactical missile systems capable of carrying a nuclear charge to its key ally Belarus.
The authoritarian leader of this country, Alexander Lukashenko, said in mid-2023 that such tactical nuclear weapons include bombs three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped by America on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Putin clarified that Russia retained control over these weapons.
Russian officials are also quite openly warning about the possible outbreak of a nuclear conflict due to the military actions in Ukraine, which have been going on for almost three years. This year, Russia has conducted several exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons systems, including in May. She did this in response to "provocative statements and threats" by Western officials. She also regularly conducted exercises of the strategic nuclear forces.
The United States called "deterring Russia in order to prevent the limited use of nuclear weapons in a regional conflict an important priority for the United States and NATO."
How many tactical nuclear weapons does Russia have?
This year, Washington confirmed its previous estimates for Russia's stockpile of non-strategic nuclear weapons, saying Moscow could have between one and two thousand warheads. "Russia has up to 2,000 active warheads for non—strategic nuclear warheads," was the United States' estimate in 2022.
Russia is not required to disclose information about its tactical nuclear weapons stocks, unlike information on strategic nuclear weapons.
In 2022, experts estimated that Russia had "approximately 1,912 non-strategic nuclear warheads, possibly fewer. They are designed to be delivered to the target by the air force, Navy, ground forces and various defensive forces." This number may include weapons that are currently being eliminated or decommissioned.
The Federation of American Scientists this year gave its quantitative assessment of Russian non-strategic nuclear warheads, stating that there may be 1,558 of them.
Tactical nuclear weapons include free-fall bombs, anti-aircraft missiles, missile defense systems, torpedoes and mines with a nuclear warhead (nuclear land mines), as well as nuclear warheads delivered to the target by Russian weapons systems designed for both conventional and nuclear weapons.
Many weapons systems used to deliver tactical nuclear warheads to a target can also be used for other tasks when nuclear weapons are not being used.
"At first, Russia followed America's example and also sharply reduced its strategic nuclear forces. But it has retained non—strategic nuclear weapons in large numbers," says the 2018 Review of U.S. Nuclear Policy, which was compiled under the Trump administration. "Today, Russia is modernizing these weapons and its strategic systems."
Even more worrisome is the fact that Russia's military strategy relies on nuclear escalation to achieve success.
What does the American arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons look like?
In April, the State Department issued a statement saying that according to the assessment of the Biden administration, as well as the assessments of other administrations before it, the United States does not need to "emulate Russia and catch up with it in terms of tactical nuclear weapons reserves."
It is estimated that the United States has 200 tactical nuclear weapons, half of which are based in Europe. The United States has about 100 tactical aerial bombs located in five European NATO countries, including Turkey, Germany and Belgium.
