While the United States was unaware of the sheer number of warheads at the time (estimating far fewer or none operational), it is now confirmed that approximately 158 nuclear warheads were on the island.
The yields for these specific weapon systems were as follows:
1. Strategic Ballistic Missiles These were the weapons that triggered the crisis—long-range missiles capable of striking deep into the continental United States.
a) SS-4 Sandal (R-12) Missiles
Yield: ~1 Megaton (1,000 kT)
Status: There were roughly 36 to 40 of these missiles in Cuba. The warheads were present and could have been mated to the missiles within hours. A 1 MT explosion is roughly 60–70 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
b) SS-5 Skean (R-14) Missiles
Yield: ~1 to 2.3 Megatons (1,000–2,300 kT)
Status: The nuclear warheads for these missiles did arrive in Cuba, but the missiles themselves were blocked by the quarantine (blockade) and never reached the island.
2. Tactical (Battlefield) Nuclear Weapons This is the category that most alarmed historians and officials when it was revealed in the 1990s. The U.S. did not know these were present or operational. If the U.S. had invaded (as was being debated), local Soviet commanders had pre-delegated authority (later rescinded) to use these against American landing forces.
a) FKR-1 (Meteor) Cruise Missiles
Yield: 5 to 14 Kilotons (kT)
Status: There were approximately 80 of these warheads. These were ground-launched cruise missiles intended for coastal defense and could have been used to strike the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay or incoming amphibious fleets.
b) Luna (FROG) Artillery Rockets
Yield: 2 Kilotons (kT)
Status: There were 12 of these warheads. These were short-range battlefield rockets intended to destroy troop concentrations on the beachheads.
c) IL-28 "Beagle" Bombers
Yield: ~28–30 Kilotons (kT)
Status: There were 6 nuclear bombs (likely the RDS-4 type) specifically for these light bombers. The aircraft were capable of striking targets in Florida or regionally.
[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1177/009634021246436...
[2] https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10...
[3] https://www.atomicarchive.com/history/cuban-missile-crisis/m...
[4] http://www.cubanmissilecrisis.org/background/frequently-aske...
[5] https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book-special-exhibit/cuba...
[6] https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-secret-soviet-tactica...
[7] https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB449/
[8] http://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-...
Compare the distances from there to the former borders of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pact on a globe and see why.
https://thecubanrevolution.com/news/why-did-us-put-jupiter-m...
Tit for tat, so to speak.
It's kinda hard to imagine why on earth you'd ever build a warhead larger than 100kT. At that point it's just destruction for the sake of destruction, not to win a war, but to ensure that everyone loses... Well, that is the point of MAD, but it just seems reckless and inhuman.
Not the only reason of course.