Currently there are more than 10,600 nuclear war heads in the U.S. stockpile (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2002). Almost 8,000 of these are active or operational; nearly 2,700 inactive. In addition to intact warheads, about 5,000 plutonium pits and 5,000 canned subassemblies (thermonuclear secondaries) are stored as a "strategic reserve" at Pantex and Oak Ridge, respectively. Another 7,000 pits at Pantex, from warheads dismantled during the Bush senior and Clinton administrations, have been declared excess.

Current plans call for the U.S. to reduce its strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,700 - 2,200 operationally deployed warheads from the 6,000 currently operationally deployed. The majority of the weapons removed from the arsenal, however, are moved to either a responsive or inactive capacity, rather than dismantled. In addition, the U.S. has a sizable tactical nuclear weapons arsenal. All told, the U.S. currently has 10,656 intact nuclear warheads with spare parts available for thousands more.

The 2002 Nuclear Posture Review follows Bush's November 2001 agreement with Putin in calling for a reduction in the United States' strategic nuclear arsenal from 6,000 to 1,700-2,200 operationally deployed weapons by 2012. The review states that the United States will reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons and depend more heavily on conventional weapons and missile defense to ensure national security. Most of the reduction however, will involve merely shifting warheads into storage, where they could quickly be reactivated. While the review calls for continued adherence to a nuclear testing moratorium, it opposes U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. By advocating acceleration in the nuclear test readiness posture, the review brings out the possibility that the United States might seek to resume nuclear tests.

The United States is modernizing its nuclear arsenal on several fronts. The U.S. Minuteman ICBMs have received upgraded targeting systems. Guidance and propulsion systems are currently being upgraded, and a program to refurbish the liquid-propulsion stage of missiles has been planned. Currently, the United States bases its Trident SLBM missiles, which have ranges up to 12,000 kilometers, on 14 Ohio-class submarines. When the reductions proposed by the Bush and Nuclear Posture Review come to pass, the United States would probably have to reduce its SSBN fleet to 10 or 12 ships. The Navy is upgrading the Trident II missile to extend its service life and plans to upgrade 300 in the next two decades, enough for 10 submarines.

Two U.S. aircraft, the B-2 and the B-52H, can carry nuclear weapons. The B-1B no longer has a nuclear mission, although a plan remains to outfit the B-1B for nuclear weapons should the need arise. The B-52 carries air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) or advanced cruise missile (ACMs), which are equipped with nuclear warheads. The United States has reduced its ALCM inventory slightly since 1997 and now has 1,142 such missiles.

In 1998, the Pentagon decided to maintain the size of its tactical nuclear arsenal, due to Russian dependence on its large tactical arsenal. The United States has tactical weapons stored on a few attack submarines, and stores 150 tactical nuclear bombs in Europe for NATO use. Fighter-bombers also maintain a nuclear capability. The Nuclear Posture Review suggests the Pentagon is debating whether to develop a new class of low-yield, bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons.