South Africa

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NPT non-nuclear weapon state formerly possessed nuclear weapons

1. Arsenal Size:

South Africa manufactured 6 air-deliverable nuclear weapons of the "gun-type" design. In parallel with decisions to end apartheid, the government halted the bomb program in 1989 and dismantled existing weapons and production equipment.

2. Weapons system:
Non-strategic gun–type weapons. Each of the 6 nuclear devices contained 55 kilograms of HEU. South Africa possessed enough HEU for a 7^th weapon, but it was never made. Each weapon had an estimated yield of 10-18 kilotons. Originally Buccaneer bombers. A multi-stage booster rocket (RSA 3) may have been a prototype for an IRBM. The SLV program was abandoned in 1993.

3. Destructive Power:
Each device had an estimated yield of 10-18 Kt.

4. Warheads Dismantled:
By 1991 all devices and associated production facilities were dismantled, and the HEU placed under IAEA safeguards.

5. Nuclear Weapons Policies:
The apartheid government developed a three-stage deterrence strategy fearing a direct invasion or an invasion of South African-controlled Namibia by Soviet-backed forces.
Following the dismantlement, the 1993 Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act committed South Africa to abstain from developing nuclear weapons.

Treaty Commitments:
State party to NPT, CTBT, and Pelindaba treaties. Member of the New Agenda Coalition in support of a nuclear-weapons-free world.

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