According to the latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, India has achieved a historic milestone by deploying 12 nuclear warheads for the first time from its stockpile of approximately 190 warheads. This represents a significant shift from India's traditional practice of storing nuclear warheads and delivery systems separately in peacetime. The deployment aligns with India's nuclear policy based on no-first use and minimum credible deterrence approaches, marking a substantial modernization of the country's nuclear posture. As per SIPRI, India is believed to have once again slightly expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2025 and continued development of new types of nuclear delivery systems, with the modernization programme increasingly focused on developing long-range weapons capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning also continues to be focused on India's long-standing rivalry with Pakistan. According to SIPRI experts Hans M Kristensen and Matt Korda, India appears to be taking steps to increase the responsiveness of its arsenal by 'canisterising' some of its ballistic missiles, which involves keeping missiles in tubes to protect them from elements while being transported and launching directly from canisters through gas generators.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2026 released on Monday, India emerged as the world's fifth-largest military spender in 2025 with $92.1 billion in expenditure. The country's military spending jumped 8.9 per cent last year from 2024, as reported by SIPRI. This significant increase in defense spending reflects India's continued focus on strengthening its military capabilities and strategic positioning in the global defense landscape.
The report reveals significant developments in India's nuclear-armed neighbors, with Pakistan continuing to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile material in 2025, suggesting that its nuclear arsenal might expand over the coming decade. During the brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan in 2025, India attacked Pakistani air-and-missile bases that are likely to have nuclear-related roles, but both sides took steps to avoid escalation. Pakistan currently maintains a stockpile of 170 warheads without any deployed warheads, while China had 34 deployed warheads from its estimated 620 nuclear warheads. The report notes that China is expanding its arsenal faster than any other country and showcased several new nuclear systems during its 2025 military parade. By January, China had loaded hundreds of missiles into three large missile silo fields in the country's north, while working to complete 30 silos in three mountainous areas in the country's east, according to the SIPRI report.
As reported by SIPRI, India was the world's second-largest arms importer from 2021 to 2025, accounting for 8.2 per cent of global imports. This substantial arms import activity demonstrates India's active role in modernizing its military capabilities and expanding its defense infrastructure. The significant share of global arms imports indicates India's commitment to building comprehensive defense capabilities across various military domains.
According to SIPRI, Russia maintained the highest number of deployed warheads at 1,796 from its stockpile of about 4,000, while the US had 1,770 deployed warheads from its stockpile of 3,700 in 2025. The report estimates that China could potentially have at least as many intercontinental ballistic missiles as either Russia or the United States by the turn of the decade, even if China surpasses 1,000 warheads by 2030, which would still amount to only about one-quarter of each of the current Russian and US nuclear stockpiles. Israel is believed to be modernizing its arsenal, with the report noting that Israel intensified construction at a new site at the Negev Nuclear Research Center in 2025 that could be related to its nuclear capabilities. The report adds that nuclear-armed states have shifted further towards strategic ambiguity and opacity even as they modernise and expand their nuclear forces in recent years.
