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19 August 2014

Worldwide Ballistic Missile Inventories


Latest ACA Resources

(June 2014) 
(November 2012) 

Press Contacts: Kelsey Davenport, Research Analyst, (202) 463-8270 x102

Updated: July 2014

The following chart lists 31 countries, including the United States and its allies, which currently possess ballistic missiles. For each country, the chart details the type of missile, its operational status, and the best-known public estimates of each missile’s range and payload. The source of the missiles—whether domestically produced, imported, or some combination of the two methods (derived or replicated from foreign technology with or without the original exporter’s consent)—is also provided.

Only nine (China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) of the 31 states below are known or suspected of possessing nuclear weapons. These nine states and Iran have produced or flight-tested missiles with ranges exceeding 1,000 kilometers. China and Russia are the only two states that are not U.S. allies that have a proven capability to launch ballistic missiles from their territories that can strike the continental United States.

Ballistic Missile Basics

Ballistic missiles are powered by rockets initially but then they follow an unpowered, free-falling trajectory toward their targets. They are classified by the maximum distance that they can travel, which is a function of how powerful the missile’s engines (rockets) are and the weight of the missile’s payload. To add more distance to a missile’s range, rockets are stacked on top of each other in a configuration referred to as staging. There are four general classifications of ballistic missiles: 
Short-range ballistic missiles, traveling less than 1,000 kilometers (approximately 620 miles); 
Medium-range ballistic missiles, traveling between 1,000–3,000 kilometers (approximately 620-1,860 miles); 
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles, traveling between 3,000–5,500 kilometers (approximately 1,860-3,410 miles); and 
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), traveling more than 5,500 kilometers. 

Short- and medium-range ballistic missiles are referred to as theater ballistic missiles, whereas ICBMs or long-range ballistic missiles are described as strategic ballistic missiles. Missiles are often classified by fuel-type: liquid or solid propellants. Missiles with solid fuel require less maintenance and preparation time than missiles with liquid fuel because solid-propellants have the fuel and oxidizer together, whereas liquid-fueled missiles must keep the two separated until right before deployment.

Country

System[1]

Status

Range[2]

Propellant

Afghanistan
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Scud-B
Unknown[3]
300 km
Liquid
Armenia
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Scud-B[4]
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Bahrain
ATACMS (MGM-140)
Operational
Up to 300 km
Solid
Belarus
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
SS-21
Operational
120 km
Solid
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
China
B611 (CSS-X-11)
Operational
250 km
Solid
M-7 (CSS-8)
Operational
150-230 km

Liquid
DF-3A (CSS-2)
Retiring
3,100 km
Liquid
DF-4 (CSS-3)
Operational
5,500 km

Liquid
DF-5 (CSS-4, Mod 1)
Operational
12,000 km

Liquid
DF-5A (CSS-4, Mod 2)
Operational
13,000 km

Liquid
DF-11 (CSS-7)
Operational
300 km

Solid
DF-11A (CSS-7)
Operational
600 km
Solid
DF-15 (CSS-6)
Operational
600 km

Solid
DF-15? (CSS-6 Mod 2)
Operational
880+ km
Solid
DF-15? (CSS-6 Mod 3)
Operational
720+ km
Solid
DF-21 (CSS-5, Mod 1)
Operational
2,100 km

Solid
DF-21A (CSS-5, Mod 2)
Operational
1,770+ km

Solid
DF-21C (CSS-5 Mod 3)
Operational
2,150-2,500 km

Solid
DF-21D ASBMvariant
Development[5]
1,500 km

Solid
DF-31 (CSS-10 Mod 1)
Operational
7,200+ km

Solid
DF-31A (CSS-10 Mod 2)
Operational
11,200+ km
Solid
Julang (JL) 1 (SLBM)
Operational
1,700+ km

Solid
Julang (JL) 2 (SLBM)
Tested/Development
7400+ km
Solid
Egypt
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Project-T (Scud B)
Operational
450 km
Liquid
Scud-C
Operational
550 km
Liquid
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Sakr-80
Operational
80+ km
Solid
France
M4A/B (SLBM)
Operational
6,000 km

Solid
M51.1 (SLBM)
Operational
6,000 km

Solid
M51.2 (SLBM)
Development
6,000 km

Solid
Georgia
Scud B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Greece
ATACMS (MGM-140)
Operational
165 km
Solid
India[6]
Prithvi-1
Operational
150 km
Liquid
Prithvi-2
Operational
250 km
Liquid
Prithvi-3
Development
350 km
Solid
Dhanush
Testing
350 km
Liquid
Sagarika/K-15 (SLBM)
Testing
700 km
Solid
Agni-I
Operational
700 km
Solid
Agni-II
Operational
2,000 km
Solid
Agni-III
Testing
3,000 km
Solid
Agni-IV
Tested
4,000 km
Solid
Agni-V
Testing
5,000+ km
Solid
Agni-VI
Development
8,000-10,000 km
Solid
K-4
Testing
3,000 km
Solid
K-5 (SLBM)
Rumored Development
5,000 km
Solid
Iran[7]
Mushak-120
Operational
130 km
Solid
Mushak-160
Operational
160 km
Solid
Qiam-1
Testing
500-1,000 km
Liquid
Fateh-110
Operational
200 km
Solid
Tondar-69 (CSS-8)
Operational
150 km
Solid
Scud-B (Shahab 1)
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Scud-C (Shahab 2)
Operational
550 km
Liquid
Shahab-3 (Zelzal-3)
Operational
800-1,000 km
Liquid
Ghadr 1/Modified Shahab-3/Kadr Ghadr 110
Tested/Development
1,000-2,000 km
Liquid
Ashura/Sejjil/Sejjil-2
Tested/Development
2,000-2,500 km
Solid
BM-25/Musudan (Suspected)
Unclear
2,500+ km
Liquid
Iraq[8]
Al Fat’h (Ababil-100)
Operational
160 km
Solid
Al Samoud II
Operational
180-200 km
Liquid
Israel
Lance
Operational
130 km
Liquid
Jericho-1
Operational
500 km
Solid
Jericho-2
Operational
1,500-1,800 km
Solid
Jericho-3
Tested/Status Unknown
4,000+ km
Solid/Liquid
Kazakhstan
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Tochka-U (SS-21)
Operational
120 km
Solid
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Libya[9]
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Al Fatah (Itislat)
Tested/Development
200 km
Liquid
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
North Korea
KN-02 (Toksa/SS-21variant)
Tested/Development
100 km
Solid
Scud-Bvariant/Hwasong 5
Operational
320 km
Liquid
Scud-Cvariant/Hwasong 6
Operational
500 km
Liquid
Scud-D/Hwasong 7
Operational
700 km
Liquid
No-Dong-1(A)
Operational
1,300 km
Liquid
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Taepo Dong-1[10]
Tested
1,600+ km
Liquid
Taepo Dong-2 (2-stage) [11]
Tested/Development
5,500+ km
Liquid
Taepo Dong-2 (3-stage)/Unha-2 SLV
Tested/Development
15,000 km
Liquid
No-Dong-2(B)/ Musudan/BM-25 [12]
Tested/Development
2,500+ km
Liquid
Pakistan
Hatf-1
Operational
80-100 km
Solid
Hatf-2 (Abdali)
Tested/Development
190 km
Solid
Hatf-3 (Ghaznavi)
Operational
300 km
Solid
Shaheen-1 (Hatf-4)
Operational
750 km
Solid
Ghauri-1 (Hatf-5)
Operational
1,300 km
Liquid
Ghauri-2 (Hatf-5a)
Tested/Development
2,300 km
Liquid
Shaheen-2 (Hatf-6)
Tested/Development
2,500 km
Solid
Ghauri-3
Development
3,000 km
Liquid
Romania
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Russia
Scud-B (SS-1c Mod 1)
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Scud-B (SS-1c Mod 2)
Operational
240 km
Liquid
RS-20V (SS-18 Satan)
Operational
11,000-15,000 km
Liquid
RS-18 (SS-19 Stiletto)
Operational
10,000 km
Liquid
SS-21
Operational
120 km
Solid
SS-21 Mod 2
Operational
120 km
Solid
SS-21 Mod 3
Operational
70 km
Solid
SS-24
Operational
10,000 km
Solid
RS-12M Topol (SS-25 Sickle)
Operational
10,500 km
Solid
RS-12M1 Topol-M (SS-27) [13]
Operational
10,500 km
Solid
RS-12M2 Topol-M (SS-27 Mod-X-2) (silo)
Operational
11,000 km
Solid
RS-24 Yars (mobile and silo versions) (SS-27 Mod 2)
Operational
10,500 km
Solid
RS-26 Rubezh
Operational
5,800 km
Solid
SS-26 Iskander
Operational
400 km
Solid
SS-N-8 (SLBM)
Operational
8,000 km
Liquid
RSM-50 Volna (SS-N-18) (SLBM)
Operational
6,500-8,000 km
Liquid
SS-N-20 (SLBM)
Retiring
8,300 km
Solid
RSM-54 Sineva (SS-N-23) (SLBM)
Operational
8,000 km
Liquid
RSM-56 (Bulava-30) (SLBM)
Operational
8,050+ km
Solid
SS-26 Stone (Iskander-E)
Operational
280 km
Solid
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Saudi Arabia
DF-3 (CSS-2)
Operational
2,600 km
Liquid
DF-21 East Wind (CSS-5)
Operational
2,100+ km
Solid
Slovakia
SS-21
Operational
120 km
Solid
South Korea
NHK-1
Operational
180 km
Solid
NHK-2
Operational
260-300 km
Solid
ATACMS Block 1/A
Operational
300 km
Solid
Syria
SS-21
Operational
120 km
Solid
Scud-B
Operational
300 km

Liquid
Scud-C
Operational
500 km
Liquid
Scud-D
Tested/Development
700 km
Liquid
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
Taiwan
Ching Feng
Operational
130 km
Liquid
Tien Chi
Operational
300 km
Solid
Turkey
ATACMS (MGM-140)
Operational
165 km
Solid
Project J
Development
150 km
Solid
Turkmenistan
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
United Arab Emirates
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
United Kingdom
D-5 Trident II (SLBM)
Operational
7,400+ km
Solid
United States
ATACMS Block I
Operational
165 km
Solid
ATACMS Block IA
Operational
300 km
Solid
ATACMS Block II
Operational
140 km
Solid
Minuteman III (LGM-30G)
Operational
9,650-13,000 km
Solid
D-5 Trident II (SLBM)
Operational
7,400+ km
Solid
Vietnam
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
Yemen[14]
Scud-B
Operational
300 km
Liquid
SS-21 (Scarab)
Operational
120 km
Solid
Scud variant
Operational
300-500 km
Liquid
Frog-7
Operational
70 km
Solid
ENDNOTES:

1. All missiles are surface-to-surface unless otherwise noted. SLBM is an acronym for a submarine-launched ballistic missile and ASBM is an acronym for an anti-ship ballistic missile.

2. The ranges, given in kilometers (km) are estimates based on publicly available sources. These figures, however, do not all necessarily reflect the missile’s maximum range, which may vary with its payload. Equipping a missile with a lighter payload would increase its range. Similarly, a heavier payload would diminish a missile’s range.

3. A January 15, 2001 report by the UN Monitoring Group on Afghanistan concluded that, prior to the October 2001 U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan, there were approximately 100 Scud-B missiles and at least four Scud mobile launchers in Afghanistan. The current distribution and operational capability of the missiles are unknown, although the UN Monitoring Group speculated that up to 30 of the missiles might be under control of the Northern Alliance.

4. According to a 1997 report by Lev Rokhlin, then-Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee on Defense, Russia transferred eight Scud-B ballistic missiles and 24 Scud launchers, along with other military hardware, to Armenia between 1993-1996. Responding to publication of the report in the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta and to formal requests by the Azerbaijan government, then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered an investigation into the claims. They were subsequently confirmed in April 1997 by Aman Tuleyev, then-Russian minister for relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States.

5. According to the Department of Defense’s 2009 report on China’s military power, Beijing is investing in conventionally-armed ASBMs based on the CSS-5 airframe which could employ “terminal-sensitive penetrating sub-munitions” in order to hold surface ships at risk.

6. India and Pakistan claim that their missiles are not deployed, meaning that the missiles are not on launchers, aimed at particular locations, or kept on a high state of alert. The missiles are in a state of “induction” with the nuclear warheads stored in facilities separate from the missile units and airfields. Pakistan and India, however, have deployed their missiles on a number of occasions, such as the Kargil crisis in July 1999.

7. In addition to the ballistic missiles listed here, Iran has been developing a 2-stage space launch vehicle called the Safir. After an initial unsuccessful launch of the Safir-1 rocket August 17, 2008, Iran successfully launched the Safir-2 February 2, 2009 and placed a small satellite in orbit. A 2009 report by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) assessed that the Safir “can serve as a test bed for long-range ballistic missile technologies” and could serve as an IRBM if converted to a ballistic missile.

8. Because of lack of current documentary evidence and inconsistencies in source reporting, the status of Iraq’s ballistic missile arsenal is unclear. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) determined in 2003 that the Al Samoud II and the Al Fat’h missiles exceeded the range permitted under UN Security Council Resolution 687. That resolution prohibited Iraq from possessing missiles with ranges exceeding 150 kilometers. UN inspectors began the destruction of these missiles on March 1, 2003, but the inspectors were withdrawn before all of the missiles had been eliminated. According to UNMOVIC’s 13th Quarterly Report, only two-thirds of the Al Samoud II missiles declared by Iraq had been destroyed. The 2004 Iraq Survey Group Report by the United States asserted that a “full accounting of the Al Fat’h missiles may not be possible.”

9. According to a CIA Report, Libya privately pledged to the United States in 2003 that it would eliminate all missiles classified as Category I systems by the MTCR. Category I pertains to missiles capable of traveling 300 kilometers or more with a payload of at least 500 kilograms, the presumed minimum weight for a first-generation nuclear warhead. Libya, however, still maintains a missile development program for systems that fall below the Category I threshold capability.

10. The Taepo Dong-1 was first flight-tested August 31, 1998. Its first two stages worked but a third stage failed. The missile has not been flight-tested again and is widely believed to have been a technology demonstrator rather than a missile system intended for deployment.

11. North Korea has carried out two flight tests of what is believed to be its Taepo Dong-2 missile. The test of a two-stage version failed about 40 seconds into its flight on July 5, 2006. The missile is assessed to have used a cluster of No Dong missiles for its first stage and a Scud or No Dong-based second stage. On April 5, 2009, North Korea launched what it called its Unha-2 space launch vehicle, widely believed to be a three-stage variant of its Taepo Dong-2. The first two stages of the rocket were successful and fell in the splashdown zones previously announced by North Korea. U.S. Northern Command said the day of the launch that the third stage and its payload both landed in the Pacific Ocean. Independent analysts assess that the second stage of the Taepo Dong-2 is based on a variant of the Soviet SS-N-6 (See endnote #14).

12. Although North Korea has never flight-tested the intermediate-range Musudan, a variant of the SS-N-6, Washington alleges that Pyongyang has deployed the missile. The SS-N-6 originally was a Soviet submarine-launched ballistic missile, but North Korea is reportedly deploying it as a road-mobile missile. There also is speculation that North Korea has transferred this missile to Iran.

13. The SS-27 (Topol-M/RS-12M) is deployed in both road-mobile and silo-based configurations.

14. On December 9, 2002, Spanish forces intercepted a North Korean cargo ship bearing 15 Scud missiles to Yemen. The United States intervened to permit the transfer to be completed because Yemen is considered an important ally in the U.S.-led “War on Terror.” Yemen pledged to cease further arms purchases from North Korea.

Sources: Arms Control Association; Missile Defense Agency; U.S. Department of Defense; Congressional Research Service; National Air and Space Intelligence Center; U.S. Department of State; Federation of American Scientists

-Updated by Brianna Starosciak

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