Global spending on nuclear weapons reached a record $118.8 billion in 2025, driven largely by increased U.S. investments in nuclear modernization programs, according to a report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
The report released this week estimates the United States spent $69.2 billion on nuclear weapons activities last year, accounting for roughly 58% of global spending among the world’s nine nuclear-armed states. ICAN said the U.S. increase from 2024 — approximately $12.4 billion — was larger than the annual spending increase of any other nuclear-armed country.
While the report focuses broadly on global nuclear expenditures, it highlights several U.S. modernization programs that continue to draw congressional and budgetary scrutiny. Among them is the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, which has faced significant cost growth in recent years. ICAN cited Congressional Budget Office estimates showing Sentinel’s projected costs increased by roughly $24 billion, arguing that the program’s ultimate price tag remains uncertain.
The report also emphasizes the long-term implications of current modernization efforts. Using service-life estimates for major systems, ICAN projects that the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine fleet could remain operational into the 2080s, while the Sentinel system could remain in service beyond 2100. The report further argues that newly manufactured plutonium pits intended for future warheads could remain viable into the next century.
Those projections come as the National Nuclear Security Administration continues efforts to expand plutonium pit production capacity at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Savannah River Site. The plutonium pit is the fissile core of a nuclear warhead and a component of broader warhead modernization plans.
ICAN also examined the role of industry in the nuclear enterprise, estimating that companies involved in nuclear weapons programs generated at least $38 billion in related revenue in 2025 and collectively hold hundreds of billions of dollars in outstanding contracts.
The report points to Congressional Budget Office projections that U.S. nuclear forces will cost approximately $946 billion between 2025 and 2034.