The Real Cost of Nuclear Weapons

Thirty one years after the Cold War, nuclear weapons still pose a real threat.

  • Thousands of Russian and American missiles could be accidentally launched within minutes.
  • Tensions between India and Pakistan could spark a nuclear war whose destruction would spread far beyond the region.
  • Terrorists could steal nuclear material and detonate a bomb in a major city.

Today, nine countries hold over 13,000 nuclear weapons.

Each one is a threat to us all.


Outdated, overpriced, and unnecessary.

Three decades after the Cold War, the United States and Russia still maintain massive nuclear arsenals. These relics of the past do nothing to protect us from today's threats.

Yet, the US is on track to spend $2 trillion on a new generation of nuclear weapons over the next 30 years. These are not what our soldiers need. Terrorists are not deterred by nuclear weapons. Every dollar spent on this obsolete arsenal is a dollar less for our true defense needs.

We need to end wasteful nuclear programs and to align our spending priorities—for today’s threats.


With your support, Ploughshares Fund will continue working to reduce nuclear weapons. We helped secure victories like the New START Treaty, which reduced the number of missile launchers by half and deployed warheads by nearly two-thirds.


Defusing and preventing security threats is our business.

Every nation that acquires nuclear arms weakens stability in its region and across the planet. Real threats loom in Pakistan, India, North Korea and Iran. Defusing and ending those threats is our business.


Ploughshares Fund convenes and supports an integrated coalition of experts and organizations dedicated to preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon.

We work to build a more peaceful and secure world.

The world today faces potentially catastrophic situations in too many regions. South Asia. The Middle East. East Asia. Eastern Europe. Each of these is exponentially more dangerous with nuclear weapons. It doesn’t matter how far they lie from US shores.

Any nuclear threat is a threat to everyone.



Donor support has helped Ploughshares Fund resolve crises in many regions, including the Fergana Valley, where tension rose across former Soviet Republics. We support pro-bono legal assistance that helps newly formed states negotiate peace treaties and draft constitutions. 

Nuclear weapons affect your life every day. We don't have to live with this.

We don’t have to live in a nuclear past — together we can create a more secure future.

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