10 countries with the largest nuclear weapons in the world

(Baonghean.vn) - In the world's historical wars, nuclear weapons have been used as a tool of war with terrible destructive power. Below are the 10 countries that possess the most nuclear weapons in the world today.

1. Russia

Russia tops the list, with about 7,300 weapons, of which 1,790 are operational. These figures are estimates, as the exact number has not been disclosed. Russia's first nuclear test was conducted in 1949, and its last in 1990. Prior to that, the country had conducted a total of 715 nuclear tests.

2. America

The runner-up on the list is the United States. Previously, the United States was the only country in the world to possess nuclear weapons until the Soviet Union produced its own weapons. Accordingly, the United States launched its nuclear program on November 21, 1939 and tested it for the first time on July 16, 1945. And as of 1967, the United States had 32,040 nuclear warheads, but now only 4,670 are usable.

3. France

This is the fourth country to conduct nuclear weapons testing completely independently. Currently, France is ranked 3rd in the world in the number of nuclear warheads with more than 300 warheads. And France has declared that it will no longer stockpile and use chemical weapons after joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1995. According to this country's law, one of their four nuclear submarines will have to patrol the Atlantic Ocean, similar to the previous British policy.

4. China

China's first nuclear test was in 1964 and continued until 1967, when they tested their first hydrogen bomb. According to estimates by the Federation of American Scientists, the country possesses about 250 warheads. According to a scientific study, by 2020, China will double its nuclear warheads and could threaten the US superpower.

5. United Kingdom

The UK currently possesses a large arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, including biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. The UK's first nuclear test took place on 3 October 1952. The highest number of nuclear warheads the UK has ever had was 520, but this has now been reduced to 215. In 2007, the UK spent £20 billion upgrading its Trident nuclear submarines. And in 2008, the UK spent £3 billion upgrading its nuclear warheads, to extend their lifespan by another 30 years.

6. Pakistan

Pakistan was the country that possessed this deadly weapon of mass destruction before Iran. Pakistan started producing nuclear weapons in 1972 when Mr. Zulkifar Ali Bhutto was the Prime Minister at that time. And he affirmed that he would complete the project by 1976 but then the progress was delayed, and had to invite Abdul Qadeer Khan from Europe to join. After much effort and expectation, the project was finally completed in 1984.

7. India

India is believed to have developed nuclear weapons and possessed chemical weapons in the past. However, the country has never made an announcement about its atomic bombs, but intelligence experts estimate that it has around 110. India’s nuclear program dates back to as early as 1944, and in 1974, it first tested a nuclear device called a “peaceful nuclear explosion.” Its policy is “no first use,” meaning that India will not provoke any country with nuclear weapons, but will respond appropriately if attacked.

8. Israel

Israel is a country that is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, although it has denied them outright. Although it is believed to have possessed nuclear weapons since 1967, there is no official data to prove this. Experts estimate that the country has between 75 and 400 warheads, produced at the Negev Nuclear Research Center.

9. North Korea

North Korea is a country that has been mentioned many times in the news program about nuclear weapons. Currently, the DPRK declared itself a nuclear weapons state with an atomic bomb and a number of lower-yield nuclear weapons since 2009. In 2006, the country successfully conducted its first nuclear test. In 2007, North Korea declared that it had nuclear weapons. By 2016, Pyongyang had successfully conducted five nuclear tests, the fifth of which had the largest yield to date.

10. Iran

Although Iran has signed the chemical weapons treaties, as well as not producing nuclear weapons. The Iranian leader has also issued a resolution prohibiting the development, production and stockpiling of this dangerous weapon. But according to some secret reports, Iran is still pursuing a nuclear program and can produce enough uranium for a nuclear warhead with a size of 1.7mnths. According to the US intelligence agency, Iran may have nuclear weapons but there are no specific statistics on how many.

Peace

(Synthetic)