Of the 12,121 nuclear warheads registered worldwide, between 3,000 and 4,000 are classified as strategic. The rest are considered tactical.

Strategic warheads have intercontinental range and can be delivered by ballistic missiles, submarines, or bombers.

Most have a yield between 100 and 500 kilotons, although some exceed one megaton. Their purpose is the complete destruction of cities and infrastructure.

Tactical warheads are designed for battlefield use and have significantly lower yields, typically ranging from 1 to 50 kilotons.

To put it in perspective, the Hiroshima bomb had a yield of 15 kilotons and completely leveled a city.

These tactical warheads can be launched by short-range missiles, tactical aircraft, and even artillery—such as the historic U.S. cannon ‘Atomic Annie’.

There are also tactical nuclear mines, designed to be buried in the ground and detonated in the event of an enemy advance.

Currently, ten countries possess nuclear weapons: Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea.

Since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is no evidence of nuclear weapons being used in any armed conflict.

However, between 1945 and 2017, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted worldwide, including underground, atmospheric, and underwater detonations.