Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
7/10/2015
The U.S. currently deploys 449 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 248 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and 88 heavy nuclear-capable bombers, according to a New START fact sheet recently released by the State Department. The document released July 1 lists the quantity of nuclear warheads for each category of deployed and non-deployed U.S. nuclear platforms as defined by New START. The deployed bomber total comprises 76 B-52s and 12 B-2s. The U.S. also maintains 12 non-deployed and three test B-52s and eight non-deployed B-2s and one test B-2.
Each deployed ICBM coincides with one deployed launcher, with an additional five launchers remaining un-deployed, according to the document. The Air Force also maintains four Minuteman 3 test launchers. The fact sheet also indicates a perfect one-to-one ratio between deployed SLBM warheads and their deployed launchers, while 88 SLBM launchers sit non-deployed. Furthermore, the military maintains 246 non-deployed ICBMs and 160 non-deployed SLBMs, intended to back up the deployed fleets.
