page_title: Nuclear history of the United States
section_title: Military nuclear matters
hierarchical_section_title: Nuclear history of the United States / Military nuclear matters
caption_attribution_description: English: Able, atomic bomb detonated in 1946 by the US Army as part of Operation Crossroads. Photo by US Deutsch: Atombombentest Crossroads-Able (Bikini-Atoll)
context_page_description: Nuclear history of the United States describes the history of nuclear affairs in the United States whether civilian or military.
context_section_description: Between 1940 and 1996, the U.S. spent at least $9.49 trillion in present-day terms on nuclear weapons development, including platforms development (aircraft, rockets and facilities), command and control, maintenance, waste management and administrative costs. It is estimated that, since 1945, the United States produced more than 70,000 nuclear warheads, which is more than all other nuclear weapon states combined. The Soviet Union/Russia has built approximately 55,000 nuclear warheads since 1949, France built 1110 warheads since 1960, the United Kingdom built 835 warheads since 1952, China built about 600 warheads since 1964, and other nuclear powers built less than 500 warheads all together since they developed their first nuclear weapons. Until November 1962, the vast majority of U.S. nuclear tests were aboveground. After the acceptance of the Partial Test Ban Treaty, all testing was regulated underground, in order to prevent the dispersion of nuclear fallout.
  As of February 2006, over $1.2 billion in compensation was paid to U.S. citizens exposed to nuclear hazards as a result of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, and by 1998, at least $759 million was paid to the Marshall Islanders in compensation for their exposure to U.S. nuclear testing.
  In 2010, the United States maintained an arsenal of 5,113 warheads and facilities for their construction and design, though many of the Cold War facilities have since been deactivated and are sites for environmental remediation. On December 5, 2012, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced that the U.S. conducted its 27th subcritical underground nuclear test since 1992, when the U.S. ended test nuclear explosions.
caption: Operation Crossroads Test Able, a 23-kiloton air-deployed nuclear weapon detonated on July 1, 1946. This bomb used, and consumed, the infamous Demon core that took the lives of two scientists in two separate criticality accidents.
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