New Delhi: India has modestly expanded its nuclear arsenal to an estimated 190 warheads, further widening its lead over Pakistan and continuing its push to modernise long-range nuclear delivery systems, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The SIPRI Yearbook 2026, released on June 8, said India is believed to have increased its stockpile during 2025 while advancing the development of new nuclear-capable delivery platforms.

New Delhi's modernisation programme, the report noted, "is increasingly focused on developing long-range weapons capable of reaching targets throughout China, although planning also continues to be focused on India's long-standing rivalry with Pakistan."

SIPRI estimated that India possessed approximately 190 nuclear warheads at the start of 2026. Pakistan, meanwhile, continued to develop new delivery systems and accumulate fissile material, indicating that its arsenal could grow further in the coming decade.

The report also highlighted the military confrontation between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor in May 2025, describing it as "an unusually severe military crisis" between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

According to SIPRI, the conflict saw India strike Pakistani air and missile bases "that are likely to have nuclear-related roles." However, the institute noted that "both sides took steps to avoid escalation."

The report further observed that India and Pakistan incorporated cyber operations into active military conflict "for the first time" during the May 2025 crisis, signalling an evolution in deterrence and warfare between the two countries.

Globally, SIPRI said the nine nuclear-armed states — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons as instruments of national power, reversing decades of efforts aimed at reducing their role and numbers.

At the start of 2026, the nine countries together possessed an estimated 12,187 nuclear weapons, of which 9,745 were held in military stockpiles and considered potentially operational. Around 4,012 warheads were deployed with operational forces, while an estimated 2,100-2,200 were maintained on high operational alert aboard ballistic missiles.

"Overall, the number of nuclear warheads in the world continues to decline, but this is only due to the USA and Russia dismantling retired warheads. Notably, the number of warheads being dismantled annually appears to be decreasing and it seems likely that the rate at which retired warheads are dismantled will soon be outpaced by the rate at which new warheads enter global stockpiles," SIPRI said.

The report noted that the United States and Russia together account for nearly 86 per cent of the world's nuclear arsenal, while China is undergoing a rapid expansion and modernisation programme. China's stockpile is estimated to have increased from 600 to around 620 warheads during the year.

SIPRI also said India and Israel primarily produce plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.

"In recent years, submarine-based nuclear weapon delivery systems have also been proliferating, especially in the four nuclear-armed states in the Indo-Pacific," the report said.

Apart from nuclear trends, SIPRI noted that India remained the world's fifth-largest military spender in 2025, with defence expenditure rising 8.9 per cent year-on-year to USD 92.1 billion.

India was also the world's second-largest importer of major arms during the 2021-25 period, accounting for 8.2 per cent of global arms imports. SIPRI identified Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan as the five largest arms importers during the period, together accounting for 35 per cent of total global imports.

The report further said the number of interstate armed conflicts doubled from three in 2024 to six in 2025, involving at least 13 countries. These included Afghanistan-Pakistan, Cambodia-Thailand, India-Pakistan, Iran-Israel/United States, Russia/North Korea-Ukraine, and Congo-Rwanda.

Karim Haggag, Director of SIPRI, wrote in the report's introduction: "The most recent decade has fundamentally altered the strategic environment. The distinguishing feature of this current phase of great power competition relates to two overarching drivers: the resurgence of large-scale interstate war between technologically advanced states and the erosion of the United States' alliance frameworks."

Haggag added that in 2025, the security landscape in Asia and Oceania continued to be shaped by intensifying strategic competition between China and the United States.