FAS Nuclear Notebook
A deep dive into the world’s nuclear arsenals
The FAS Nuclear Notebook is co-authored by Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, Eliana Johns, and Mackenzie Knight and published bi-monthly in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Each issue provides a snapshot of a nuclear-armed country weapons programs or a global nuclear weapons matter. The FAS Nuclear Notebook is one of the most widely sourced reference materials worldwide for reliable information about the status of nuclear weapons, and it is the most visited section of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists website. Starting in 2020, the Bulletin only offers the Notebooks in web format, but full PDF formats are available from Taylor & Francis. Because of their importance as a resource to an informed public debate about nuclear weapons, the FAS Nuclear Notebooks are freely available on the Internet.
Older Nuclear Notebooks all the way back to the first issue in May 1987 can be found here (for those that are missing, see Google Books here). The FAS Nuclear Notebook is researched and produced by the analysts at the Federation of American Scientists. Previously it was produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council, headed by Robert S. Norris, and called the NRDC Nuclear Notebook.
The research that makes the FAS Nuclear Notebooks possible is generously supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the New-Land Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, the Prospect Hill Foundation, Longview Philanthropy, the Stewart R. Mott Foundation, the Future of Life Institute, Open Philanthropy, and individual donors. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors.
Despite progress in reducing nuclear weapon arsenals since the Cold War, the world’s combined inventory of nuclear warheads remains at a very high level.
The Nuclear Information Project provides the public with reliable information about the status and trends of the nuclear weapons arsenals of the world’s nuclear-armed countries.
The Defense Posture Project tracks disruptions to strategic stability in order to provide innovative concepts for maintaining deterrence over the coming decades.
The Pentagon is currently planning to replace its current arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a brand-new missile force, despite budget and life-cycle concerns.