Nuclear powers increasing deployment of warheads, SIPRI warns

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The world's nine nuclear-armed states are moving warheads from storage onto operational delivery systems at an accelerating pace, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. While total nuclear stockpiles have gradually declined over decades, the shift toward deployment heightens conflict risk amid intensifying geopolitical rivalries and a new arms buildup. SIPRI warned that this trend could reverse years of nuclear disarmament progress, with the organization cautioning that the combination of increased warhead readiness and renewed great-power competition creates a precarious security landscape.