🇮🇳 India Nuclear Arsenal

In 2025, India has a total of 180 nuclear warheads. They made 2 tests between 1998 and 1998.

India’s nuclear posture remains anchored in a declared “No-First-Use” and “credible minimum deterrence” doctrine, yet its forces are being readied for faster, more flexible retaliation and a broadened China-focused reach. New canisterised missiles, a growing ballistic-missile-submarine (SSBN) fleet and the first successful Multiple-Independently-Targetable-Re-entry-Vehicle (MIRV) test in 2024 mark a decisive shift from a modest recessed deterrent toward a technologically sophisticated, tri-service arsenal that now numbers roughly 170 warheads and is still climbing.

India is assessed to have assembled about 180 nuclear warheads, with fissile material for up to 210, placing it just behind Israel and ahead of North Korea in overall size. The stockpile has risen slowly but steadily, roughly 10 warheads in the past three years, despite the country’s publicly modest declaratory posture.

In peacetime, most warheads remain physically separated from delivery systems, but the spread of solid-fuel, canisterised missiles (Agni-P, Agni-V, and the forthcoming Agni-VI) is eroding the older “de-mated” model and allowing much higher readiness levels. Analysts judge that at least a subset of road-mobile Agni batteries now patrol with warheads pre-mated, mirroring the readiness India already achieves at sea.

Modernisation is broad-based: a first three-warhead MIRV flight on an Agni-V in March 2024, the induction of the second SSBN INS Arighat in August 2024, continued tests of the 3,500 km-range K-4 SLBM, and development of the 6,000–8,000 km K-5 follow-on. At the same time, Indian Air Force strike squadrons flying Mirage 2000H/I, Jaguar IS/IB and—most probably in the near term—Rafale F3-R remain tasked with gravity-bomb delivery until a compliant cruise-missile option (BrahMos-A) is fielded on Su-30MKI.

Force structure and major vectors

Land-based ballistic missiles

• Short/medium range: Prithvi-II (350 km), Agni-I (~700 km), Agni-P (1,000–2,000 km, canisterised, user-tested 2023)
• Intermediate range: Agni-II (2,000 km), Agni-III (3,000+ km), Agni-IV (3,500+ km)
• Long range / ICBM: Agni-V (5,000+ km, now MIRV-capable); Agni-VI (12,000 km class, design work underway)

Sea-based nuclear forces

• SSBNs in service: INS Arihant (S2) operational since 2016; INS Arighat (S3) commissioned 2024 and now on deterrent patrols
• SSBNs under construction: S4 and S4* (extended Arihant variant) fitting out; S5-class (13,000 t, 12–16 missile tubes) slated to begin production before 2027
• SLBMs: K-15 (Sagarika, 750 km, deployed); K-4 (3,500 km, user trials 2024); K-5 (6,000–8,000 km, components showcased 2025)

Air-delivered capability

• Current dedicated aircraft: Mirage 2000H/I and Jaguar IS/IB squadrons configured for gravity bombs; each can carry 1–2 boosted-fission weapons
• Modernisation path: Su-30MKI with BrahMos-A (nuclear-capable cruise-missile variant) entering service; Rafale F3-R expected to assume the Mirage role post-2030, retaining a penetrating free-fall option

Outlook

India’s arsenal is projected to reach around 200 warheads by the early 2030s as new SSBNs, MIRVed Agni-V/VI missiles and longer-range SLBMs enter service. The strategic centre of gravity will shift offshore: a four-boat Arihant/S-class force could sustain continuous at-sea deterrence by 2028, while the heavier S5 class will put the entire Chinese mainland within K-5 range from rear-area bastions. On land, the transition to canisterised, quick-reaction Agni-P and the MIRV-capable Agni-V/VI will compress launch timelines and complicate adversary pre-emption.

Politically, New Delhi still reiterates “No First Use,” but official statements increasingly emphasise “massive retaliation” and some senior leaders have hinted at a conditional posture, especially in the context of a rapid-escalation crisis with Pakistan or counter-force debates vis-à-vis China. The net result is a deterrent that remains numerically modest but is becoming stealthier, faster and more diversified—capable of imposing unbearable costs on both nuclear-armed neighbours while preserving the veneer of restraint that underpins India’s global non-proliferation diplomacy.