"As of September 2023, the US stockpile of nuclear warheads consisted of 3,748 warheads. This number represents an 88 percent reduction in the stockpile from its maximum (31, 255) at the end of fiscal year 1967 and an 83 percent decrease from its level (22,217) when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989," the NNSA said in a statement.
The United States dismantled 12,088 nuclear warheads from 1994 through 2023 fiscal years and 405 others since September 30, 2020, the statement said.
Approximately 2,000 additional nuclear warheads are currently retired and awaiting dismantlement. The nuclear stockpile includes both active and inactive warheads.
In March, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose said that the agency was examining "very closely" whether it would adjust the US nuclear arsenal in response to the perceived nuclear challenges posed by Russia and China. Washington needs to keep channels of communication with Russia on arms control and risk reduction, he added. US President Joe Biden asked Congress to unlock $20 billion in the 2025 fiscal year to modernize nuclear weapons.