190 vs 170: India Widens Nuclear Warhead Gap With Pakistan, Says Report

By The Slate Bureau

New Delhi, June 8: India has expanded its nuclear arsenal with 190 warheads against Pakistan’s 170, according to the latest findings from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

India and Pakistan continued to develop new types of nuclear weapon delivery systems in 2025, and both are pursuing the capability to deploy multiple warheads on ballistic missiles. India was estimated to have a growing stockpile of about 190 nuclear weapons as of January 2026—a small increase from the previous year. 

These weapons were assigned to a maturing nuclear triad of aircraft, land-based missiles and SSBNs. 28 More warheads are thought to be in production for additional missiles. It has long been assumed that India stores its nuclear warheads separate from its deployed launchers during peacetime. 

However, the country’s recent moves towards placing missiles in canisters and conducting sea-based deterrence patrols suggest that India could be shifting in the direction of mating some of its warheads with their launchers in peacetime. Based on this assessment, SIPRI estimates that, as of January 2026, India may have started to deploy a small number of nuclear warheads on a single SSBN conducting occasional deterrence patrols. 

Pakistan’s 170 Warheads 

Pakistan’s nuclear warhead stockpile is thought to have remained stable at around 170 warheads as of January 2026 (see tables 8A.1 and 8A.8), although it continued to develop its nascent nuclear triad during 2025. While Pakistan’s land and air capabilities are well established, its sea-based capabilities are still in the development and testing phase. Pakistan’s development of several new delivery systems and accumulation of fissile material suggest that its nuclear weapon arsenal and fissile material stockpile are likely to continue to expand over the next decade, although forecasts vary considerably due to limited official publicly available data.

29 Over the past decade, India’s nuclear planning has placed a greater emphasis on investing more resources in longer-range weapon systems that appear to be focused on China, but its planning still remains heavily influenced by its long-standing rivalry with Pakistan. In May 2025 India and Pakistan engaged in their most significant armed conflict in decades, which involved conventional Indian strikes on Pakistani air and missile bases that are assessed to have nuclear missions. Both sides took deliberate steps to keep the conflict at the conventional level and reduce the risk of nuclear crisis. However, the clash marked a shift in the region’s dynamics, making the risk of rapid, unexpected escalation to a nuclear level a lingering and serious concern 

Meanwhile, the nuclear-armed states were taking their arms out of storage and putiing them on delivery systems, as the weapons of mass destruction are playing an increased role in global politics.