India has achieved a historic milestone by deploying 12 nuclear warheads for the first time in peacetime, marking a significant shift in its nuclear posture according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This represents a departure from India's long-standing practice of storing nuclear warheads separately from delivery systems during peacetime. As per SIPRI's latest assessment, India now possesses a total nuclear arsenal of 190 warheads, up from 180 a year earlier, with the deployment of these 12 warheads signaling a gradual movement towards a more operationally ready nuclear deterrent centered on survivable sea-based forces. The deployment is believed to be linked to India's growing fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and its expanding sea-based deterrent capability, with the country conducting occasional deterrence patrols.
The deployment is linked to India's growing sea-based deterrent capability and the operationalization of its SSBN fleet, with the country bringing two nuclear-powered submarines into operation since August 2024 - INS Arighaat and INS Aridaman, both capable of carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. India maintains a No First Use nuclear doctrine, under which nuclear weapons are intended primarily for retaliation following a nuclear strike. SIPRI's assessment suggests that the deployment of a limited number of warheads may be linked to India's modernization programme increasingly focused on developing longer-range systems capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning remains influenced by India's strategic rivalry with Pakistan. The report notes that India has traditionally been viewed as storing nuclear warheads separately from delivery systems during peacetime, reducing the risk of accidental launches and maintaining a lower state of alert, but the introduction of canisterised missile systems and regular submarine deterrence patrols may be gradually altering that posture.
According to SIPRI's latest assessment, nine countries — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — together possessed about 12,187 nuclear weapons at the start of 2026. Of those, approximately 9,745 were held in military stockpiles and considered potentially operational. The overwhelming majority belong to Russia and the United States, though SIPRI noted that China and India may now occasionally deploy a limited number of nuclear warheads on missiles during peacetime. In contrast, Russia maintains the world's largest deployed nuclear force with 1,796 deployed warheads, compared with 1,770 for the United States, while the global inventory stood at 12,187 nuclear warheads in January 2026 with approximately 9,745 in military stockpiles available for potential use.
Operation Sindoor, which began with retaliatory strikes on May 6-7, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan, marked several military firsts for the subcontinent. The conflict witnessed India's use of air-launched cruise missiles, including the BrahMos, Pakistan's use of conventionally armed short-range ballistic missiles, and employment of drone warfare by both sides. The operation demonstrated the growing centrality of long-range conventional missiles in regional conflict, with India broadening strikes to include 11 airbases between May 8-10 after Pakistan attempted to strike civilian and military infrastructure across the Line of Control and international border.
India's missile manufacturing capabilities are being significantly expanded through private sector investments, with Agneyastra Energetics Ltd establishing a 1,000-acre manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh with ₹1,500 crore investment over the next two to four years. The DRDO has already licensed missile technologies to private sector partners for short-range air-defence missiles and anti-ship missiles, with plans to extend this to Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missile and Pralay surface-to-surface quasi-ballistic missile in the coming days. The Ministry of Defence continues actively pursuing technology transfer to achieve affordable mass production capabilities, with the focus on mass precision — quality and quantity — as the defining factor of modern combat. India's nuclear triad now includes aircraft, land-based missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, giving the country the ability to launch nuclear weapons from land, sea and air.
SIPRI Director Karim Haggag warned that growing reliance on nuclear weapons could increase global risks, noting that influential voices advocating nuclear weapons as a guarantee against attack could significantly increase nuclear risks. Hans M. Kristensen from SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme emphasized that the evidence suggests nuclear weapon states are sidelining disarmament commitments and flexing their nuclear muscles. The report comes at a time when the global nuclear arms control framework is under increasing strain, with the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty concluding without a final consensus document, marking the third consecutive review conference to end without agreement. Among the most concerning trends, SIPRI identified the growing overlap between nuclear and conventional military systems and the spread of multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), which allow a single missile to strike several targets.
