Swedish institute says nuclear war risks growing

A Swedish research institute says nuclear risks are growing as a new arms race looms. It says the use of artificial intelligence in defense systems could also increase the chances of a nuclear conflict.
Those conclusions were part of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's annual assessment released Monday. The report looks at the state of armaments, disarmament and international security.
It says nuclear armed countries had an estimated 12,241 warheads in January 2025, down 164 from a year earlier.
The report also says that an estimated 3,912 of these, or more than 30 percent, were deployed with operational forces. About 2,100 were kept in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles.
It says "the era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the cold war, is coming to an end."
Russia is estimated to have 5,459 warheads, followed by the United States with 5,177. The two countries are believed to possess nearly 90 percent of the total global inventory.
The institute estimates that China has the third largest stockpile of at least 600 nuclear warheads, and that its nuclear arsenal is growing faster than that of any other country, by about 100 new warheads per year.
It also says that as AI and other technologies speed up decision making in crises, there is a higher risk of a nuclear conflict breaking out as a result of miscommunication, misunderstanding or technical accident.

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