Switzerland and weapons of mass destruction

Swiss Confederation
Location of Swiss Confederation
Nuclear program start date1945 (ended in 1988)
First nuclear weapon testNone
First thermonuclear weapon testNone
Last nuclear testNone
Largest yield testNone
Total testsNone
Peak stockpileNone
Current stockpileNone
Current strategic arsenalNone
Cumulative strategic arsenal in megatonnageNone
Maximum missile rangeNone
NPT partyYes

Switzerland made detailed plans to acquire and test nuclear weapons during the Cold War.[1] Less than two weeks after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Swiss government started studying the possibility of building nuclear weapons, and continued its military nuclear program for 43 years until 1988.[2][3][4] It has since signed and ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.[5] Switzerland never possessed biological weapons, but did have a program to develop and test chemical weapons.

  1. ^ Stussi-Lauterberg 1995.
  2. ^ 334 Letter written by Hans Fritz addressed to Swiss Federal Council, Karl Kobelt, from 15 August 1945: «Erwägungen über die Atombombe als Kriegsmittel und ihre Folgen für die Verteidigung der Schweiz» in the Dodis database of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland
  3. ^ Westberg, Gunnar (October 9, 2010). "Swiss Nuclear Bomb". International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Edwards, B. (May 25, 1996). "Swiss Planned a Nuclear Bomb". New Scientist. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Retrieved 2013-02-28.