The Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has published an annual review of the nuclear capabilities of various countries. SIPRI experts concluded that in 2023 all nuclear powers expanded their arsenals.
The document says that nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel, all of which in 2023 expanded their nuclear arsenals and continue to modernize weapons. In the list of nuclear powers, Israel placed on the eighth position, ahead of North Korea in the number of warheads.
The review estimates that there are 12,121 nuclear warheads in the world stockpile. As of January 2024, 3,904 warheads were deployed on missiles and aircraft, 60 more than in January 2023, with about 2,100 ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads on high alert. Almost all of them belong to Russia or the United States. For the first time, China, which in a year increased the number of nuclear warheads from 410 to 500, put some of them on alert.
About 90% of nuclear weapons belong to Russia and the United States.
The document says that, according to rough estimates, Israel has 90 warheads (while there are experts who believe that Israel has 300 nuclear warheads). According to SIPRI, in Israel, nuclear warheads are stored separately from their means of delivery. The document quotes Israeli government minister Amihai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit), who at the beginning of the war did not rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Gaza.
According to SIPRI, at the beginning of 2023, Israel had between 750 and 110 kg of plutonium, which would be enough to build between 187 and 277 warheads of 4 kg of plutonium each. About 30 of the 90 warheads available are designed to be dropped from F16I and possibly F-15 fighters.
The report said about 50 more warheads were designed to be delivered by Jericho family missiles, although the report said Israel had never acknowledged possessing such missiles. They are probably stored in bunkers and underground storage facilities. According to SIPRI, Israel is upgrading its missile arsenal from Jericho 2 to Jericho 3, which has a range of 4,000 km.
The report notes that Israel also has five German-made Dolphin submarines, some of which, according to unconfirmed reports, have undergone modernization to launch the Popeye cruise missile. Thus, according to the SIPRI report, Israel has the ability to attack with nuclear weapons from land, air and sea.
In 2023, Israel was in the process of upgrading its Dimona nuclear reactor.