France and Britain have about 515 nuclear warheads, and some 100 American bombs are stored in five other European countries. Russia has about 4,400 in service.
All of these numbers are estimates: no nuclear power publishes its arsenal in full. The figures come from SIPRI and the Federation of American Scientists.
Europe’s own warheads
France had about 290 warheads in January 2026, according to SIPRI, carried by submarine-launched missiles and by Rafale aircraft. It is the only nuclear power in the EU and keeps its deterrent fully national: it is the one NATO ally outside the alliance’s Nuclear Planning Group. In March 2026 President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would increase the number of its warheads and would no longer publish figures for its arsenal.
The United Kingdom had about 225, SIPRI estimates, all on Trident missiles carried by its submarines. In 2021 the government raised its ceiling to no more than 260 warheads and stopped publishing operational numbers. In June 2025 it decided to buy 12 F-35A aircraft to join NATO’s nuclear sharing mission.
Together that is about 515 warheads. Germany, Italy, Poland and every other European ally have none of their own.
American weapons in Europe
The United States keeps an estimated 100 B61 nuclear bombs at six air bases in five countries: Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Büchel in Germany, Aviano and Ghedi in Italy, Volkel in the Netherlands and Incirlik in Türkiye. SIPRI puts the number at 100 to 120 and, like the Federation of American Scientists, considers it possible that some have also been moved to RAF Lakenheath in England. Under NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangement the bombs remain in American custody and control; in a conflict they would be carried by certified aircraft of the allies that take part in the mission.
NATO’s doctrine is explicit about where the weight lies. Its 2022 Strategic Concept calls the strategic nuclear forces of the alliance, “particularly those of the United States”, the supreme guarantee of its security.
The balance with Russia
SIPRI estimates Russia’s inventory at 5,420 warheads in January 2026. About 1,020 of them are retired and awaiting dismantlement, leaving some 4,400 for use, of which about 1,800 are deployed on missiles and bombers. The United States has about 5,042, with 3,700 in its military stockpile.
Measured against Russia’s military stockpile, Europe’s own forces are about an eighth of the size. The open question for Europe is whether its deterrent covers the continent, and what happens if the American guarantee weakens; the conventional side of that question is in Could Europe defend itself without the US? The wider military comparison is in NATO vs Russia.
What is changing
Europe is beginning to talk about its own deterrent in the open. In February 2026 Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the Munich Security Conference that he had begun talks with Macron on European nuclear deterrence, inside NATO’s nuclear sharing. On 2 March 2026 the two set up a high-ranking nuclear steering group and agreed that German conventional forces would take part in French nuclear exercises from this year. The same day Macron announced “forward deterrence”: a European dimension for France’s deterrent, including temporary deployments of French nuclear-capable aircraft to allied countries. Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark agreed to take part, and Finland followed in September. The decision to use the weapons stays with the French president alone.
The Franco-German steps are designed to add to NATO’s nuclear sharing, and no European nuclear force under common command is planned. Who would decide on Europe’s nuclear defense, if the American guarantee weakened, is now an open political question.