Indian forces conducted conventional strikes on Pakistani bases with nuclear missions during Operation Sindoor in May 2025.

India is developing a nuclear triad that includes aircraft, land-based missiles, and nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The Agni-V intermediate-range ballistic missile is being equipped with Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles. India is also placing land-based missiles in canisters and deploying a small number of nuclear warheads on a single submarine for occasional deterrence patrols.

According to a January 2026 report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India expanded its nuclear arsenal to an estimated 190 warheads. This represented an increase from 180 warheads in 2025. During the same period, China increased its nuclear weapons from 600 in 2025 to 620 by January 2026.

Muhammad Faisal and other authors wrote in a May 2026 War on the Rocks article that Pakistan is developing conventional tools to manage escalation. Siddhant Kishore wrote in a November 2025 article for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that India strongly discounts Pakistan's nuclear threats. Kishore stated Islamabad lacks a credible sea-based second-strike capability.

Rabia Akhtar wrote in a June 2026 report for the French Institute of International Relations that Pakistan's nuclear deterrent prevented border clashes from escalating into a major war, despite conventional escalation in May 2025. Ashok Shivane wrote in a March 2026 report for the Center for Land Warfare Studies that Pakistan's nuclear posture provides strategic insulation for proxy warfare.

Rakesh Sood wrote in a February 2026 article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that India-China border tensions are structurally insulated from nuclear escalation by shared defensive frameworks. Richa Sharma wrote in a May 2026 United Service Institute of India article that China's advances in MIRVs, SSBNs, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and counter-space systems could increase its confidence in conducting counterforce strikes against India's retaliatory forces. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported that the U.S. had deployed 1,770 nuclear weapons as of January 2026.