Russia’s tactical nuclear forces

Russia’s arsenal of non-strategic nuclear warheads – designed to be used for tactical gains on the battlefield rather than destroying entire cities – vastly outnumbers that of the U.S.

AIR-LAUNCHED WEAPONS     334 Warheads

Delivery systems: Tu-22M strategic bombers and Su-24, Su-34 and MiG-31 fighter jets
Weapon systems: Kh-102 (AS-23B) cruise missile and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic land-attack missile

NAVAL WEAPONS   784 Warheads

Delivery systems: Submarines, surface ships and aircraft

Weapon systems: Yakhont (SS-N-26)  anti-ship cruise missile, Kalibr (SS-N-30A) land-attack cruise missile, nuclear torpedoes and depth charges

Live fire test of Iskander-M ballistic missile

GROUND-BASED  95 Warheads

Iskander-M (SS-26) surface-to-surface missile: 75 warheads

9M729 Novator (SSC-8) ground-launched cruise missile: 20 warheads


DEFENSIVE WEAPONS  345 Warheads

S-300 and S-400 air defence missiles: 250 warheads
53T6 Gazelle silo-based anti-ballistic missile system: 68 warheads

Redut (SSC-1B) and Bastion-P (SSC-5) coastal defence missiles:  27 warheads

Note: All numbers are approximate

Russia
Total tactical warheads
1,558
 
U.S. 230

Sources: AP, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, CACNP Picture: CSIS © GRAPHIC NEWS