FACT BRIEF

Are most of the nation's nuclear weapons located in the Nevada desert?

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

By Todd Butterworth

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While hard data is sparse given its strategic military importance, Nevada does not appear to have the most nuclear weapons in the U.S.

According to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the state with the largest nuclear stockpile is New Mexico, although most of the weapons there are retired and awaiting dismantlement.

Nuclear warheads require a missle or bomber aircraft to be delivered. The three largest silos with nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles are located in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, according to the Department of Defense. In addition to its 400 land-based ICBMs, the department's "nuclear triad" includes an unstated number of bombs from 60 nuclear-capable heavy bomber aircraft and 240 submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Separately, the Atomic Archive lists Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base as one of the U.S. Air Force's two main nuclear weapons depots, with "an assortment of B61 gravity bombs and air-launched cruise missiles."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Nuclear Notebook: United States nuclear weapons, 2021

US Department of Defense The Nuclear Triad

Atomic Archive United States' Nuclear Facilities

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