| Project Islero | |
|---|---|
| Proyecto Islero | |
 José María Otero de Navascués (second from left) and Guillermo Velarde, December 27, 1958 | |
| Active | 1963–1981 |
| Disbanded | 1987 |
| Country | Spain |
| Branch | Defence High Command |
| Type | Nuclear Weapons Project |
| Headquarters | Vandellós, Tarragona |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Luis Carrero Blanco Agustín Muñoz Grandes Guillermo Velarde Manuel Díez-Alegría |
Project Islero was an attempted Spanish nuclear program. Named after Islero, the bull which fell the famous bullfighter Manolete, the program was created by Generals Agustín Muñoz Grandes and Guillermo Velarde in 1963. Although Spain possessed the second largerst uranium deposits in the world at the time,[1] it was not until the Palomares Incident of 1966 that Spain would gain the technological breakthrough to conduct serious hydrogen bomb research. By reverse-engineering the Teller-Ulam process, the project was able to shift to usage of plutonium-239. Yet, in 1966, Franco paused the military research, shifting efforts to nuclear reactor construction and plutonium production. However, the program was resumed in 1971, with help from Charles de Gaulle's France to refine the material and fund the nuclear facilities.[1]: 497–498
Lasting from the middle stages of Francisco Franco's rule into the beginning of the democratic transition, the project was prematurely cancelled due to American pressures in 1981,[2] although it only formally ended in 1987 under Felipe González. Although the project never developed a nuclear weapon, the country possessed the capabilities to both design and manufacture the necessary components needed for a hydrogen bomb, with the Spanish Foreign Minister, José María de Areilza, declaring in 1976 that Spain would be able to manufacture the bomb "in seven or eight years if we set our minds to it."[3][4]
- ^ a b Payne, Stanley G.; Palacios, Jesús (November 24, 2014). Franco. University of Wisconsin Pres. ISBN 978-0-299-30210-8.
- ^ "Counter-Proliferation During the Carter Administration".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
MuñozBolañoswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cal, Juan C. de la; Garrido, Vicente (June 10, 2001). "La bomba atómica que Franco soñó" [The Atomic Bomb that Franco Dreamed Of] (in Spanish). No. 295. El Mundo. Retrieved July 24, 2019.