Today, Israel is the world’s sixth most powerful nuclear state, with a stockpile of more than 100 nuclear weapons and with the components and ability to build atomic, neutron and…
Israel
Israel’s Uranium Processing and Enrichment
Israel has relied on plutonium, rather than high-enriched uranium, as the primary fuel for its nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, Israel has developed the ability to process and enrich uranium at the…
Israel’s Plutonium Production
Israel makes plutonium for atomic bombs at Dimona, a secret nuclear complex in the Negev Desert. The French-supplied reactor there has produced plutonium free from international controls since 1963. The…
Israel: U.S. Turns Down Shavit Rocket
In early May, the Clinton administration denied a request from Israel to sell its “Shavit” space launcher to the U.S. Air Force, which wanted to use the Shavit to launch…
Israel Gets U.S. Supercomputer for Secret Military Site
U.S. officials have approved the sale of an American supercomputer to Israel’s Ministry of Defense for use at a secret military site, knowledgeable U.S. officials tell the Risk Report. The…
How Far Can Israel’s Missiles Fly?
On April 5, Israel launched its first spy satellite, the Ofek-3, giving Israel the ability to photograph and gather intelligence data on its neighbors. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin applauded the…
United States is Israel’s Leading Foreign Missile-Tech Supplier
Since the mid-1970s, the United States has openly supplied Lance missiles and missile production technology to Israel. In addition, illicit sales of U.S. technology have helped Israel build the Jericho-II…
Israel Aims to Improve Missile Accuracy
Visiting the United States in 1987, an Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) official didn’t hesitate to answer a question about the accuracy he expected from future Israeli missiles: “A 1,000-kilometer missile…
Israel Gets High-Speed Computers
In November, the United States approved the sale of powerful computers that could boost Israel’s well-known but officially secret A-bomb and missile programs. The most controversial exports are a pair…
Israeli A-Bombs and Norwegian Heavy Water: Arms Control Through Public Pressure
Remarks in Rjukan, Norway Despite its small size, Norway has made a large contribution to the spread of nuclear weapons–essentially by selling heavy water. According to the Norwegian government, by…