Nuclear weapons of India

India's stockpile is estimated at about 190 warheads and is growing gradually. First tested at Pokhran in 1974, described at the time as a peaceful nuclear explosion, and openly weaponized with the 1998 test series, the arsenal is meant to provide assured retaliation against both Pakistan and China.

A triad is taking shape. The land leg spans Prithvi and Agni missiles up to the Agni-V, with a range of more than 5,000 km and classed by India as an intermediate-range missile, whose test of 11 March 2024 demonstrated multiple independently targetable warheads; a further Agni-V test took place on 20 August 2025. The Agni-Prime, a canisterized missile of 1,000-2,000 km range, was launched from a rail-mobile launcher for the first time on 24 September 2025 and is expected in service around 2027, with the Agni-VI program following. The sea leg rests on the Arihant-class submarines; the air leg is provided by Jaguar and Mirage 2000 squadrons, while a nuclear role for the Rafale has been reported but is not confirmed. Canisterized missiles blur the traditional separation of warheads and launchers.

India declares a no-first-use policy, though official statements have periodically qualified it. It never joined the NPT, observes a self-declared testing moratorium, and has not signed the CTBT. The May 2025 armed clash with Pakistan, the most serious between the two in decades, renewed attention on South Asia's nuclear balance: Indian conventional strikes hit Pakistani bases assessed to have nuclear missions, and both sides kept the conflict conventional.

The sea leg is maturing fastest. INS Arihant carries the short-range K-15 missile; a second submarine, INS Arighaat, entered service in 2024, and the third, INS Aridhaman, with eight launch tubes, was commissioned on 3 April 2026, as reported rather than formally announced. A fourth boat, reportedly INS Arisudan, is expected in 2027, and a follow-on S5 class is planned. The longer-range K-4 missile, which would give the force credible patrol reach against China, was last tested from INS Arighaat in December 2025 and still requires further testing; SIPRI expects it to enter service around 2027. SIPRI and FAS assess that, as of January 2026, India may occasionally carry about 12 warheads on one submarine on patrol, the first such assessment, and the first sign of warheads kept at higher readiness than the recessed posture the no-first-use pledge once assumed. Since the May 2025 clash, debate over that pledge has sharpened; the policy stands.