
“Night of Murder”: On the Brink of Nuclear War in South Asia
India and Pakistan came close to using nuclear weapons. (CNS)
Country Spotlight
India conducted its first nuclear explosive test in 1974 and possesses nuclear weapons, full nuclear fuel cycle capabilities, and a variety of nuclear delivery systems. Regional rival Pakistan’s first nuclear test in 1998 and the subsequent nuclear arms race between the two countries means the conflict now carries the potential risk of nuclear escalation.
Region South Asia
~160 Nuclear warheads
4.9±2 tons Estimated highly-enriched uranium stockpile
0.7±0.15 tons Estimated weapons-grade plutonium stockpile
2 Operational Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)
India and Pakistan came close to using nuclear weapons. (CNS)
Education Center
Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda, “Nuclear Notebook: How many nuclear weapons does India have in 2022?” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 11 July 2022, https://thebulletin.org.
George Perkovich, India’s Nuclear Bomb: The Impact on Global Proliferation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999).
Ansuman Tripathy, “India Emerges a Top Five Pharmaceuticals Markets of the World,” Businessworld, 5 May 2018, www.businessworld.in.
“Update on Chemical Demilitarisation,” Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 21 April 2009, www.opcw.org.
Ashley J. Tellis, “India’s ASAT Test: An Incomplete Success,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 15 April 2019, https://carnegieendowment.org.
Doris Elin Urrutia, “India’s Anti-Satellite Missile Test Is a Big Deal. Here’s Why.” Space.com, 10 August 2022, www.space.com.
Shankhyaneel Sarkar, “BrahMos test-fired: List of missiles India has tested in last two months,” Hindustan Times, 18 October 2020, www.hindustantimes.com.
“India conducts first flight test of domestic missile,” Reuters, 11 March 2024, www.reuters.com.