The Obama administration disclosed the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal for the first time on Monday, issuing a set of figures that has remained an official government secret since the Manhattan project during World War II.
The administration said the stockpile consists of 5,113 active and inactive warheads, down from a high of 31,255 in 1967, in the years after the Cuban missile crisis.
Although no U.S. administration had ever revealed the current size of its weapons stockpile, the number came as little surprise. Most experts had made estimates close to the actual figures. The Federation of American Scientists, which advocates arms control, for instance, had estimated the inventory at 5,100.
Full story: Nuclear: U.S. discloses size of nuclear arsenal – latimes.com