jwm@STDC.JHUAPL.EDU (Jim Meritt) (02/13/90)
How many countries (other than France) detonate nuclear weapons for testing purposes outside of their own country? Jim
T9AA@SDSUMUS.BITNET (Dave Jacoby) (02/14/90)
I don't know, but I can't imagine either Israel or South Africa testing nukes on their own land. Of course, they might have untested nukes... dave t9aa@sdsumus.bitnet
PHARABOD@FRCPN11.BITNET (02/14/90)
From Jim Meritt (Tue, 13 Feb 90 09:34:36 EST): >How many countries (other than France) detonate nuclear weapons for >testing purposes outside of their own country? >Jim (This is mainly historical): 1. The British tested their bombs first in Australia, then (since 1963) in the USA (Nevada). 2. Many people think that the Israelis tested their bomb in the Sahara (it was just said to be another French test). 3. It has been said that the (highly probable) nuclear explosion of 22 September 1979 in the Indian Ocean was an Israeli-South African joint venture. 4. Maybe Pakistan tested its bomb in China. 5. (of course, France says that South Pacific is a French sea...) Jean-Pierre Pharabod
PHARABOD@FRCPN11.BITNET (02/14/90)
In answer to Dave Jacoby (Tue, 13 Feb 90 10:19:20 CST): >I don't know, but I can't imagine either Israel or South Africa >testing nukes on their own land. Of course, they might have untested >nukes... >dave The test had been made in the Indian Ocean, far off the South-African coasts. Its typical "double flash" had been detected by the US satellite Vela. There have been several articles about that in the US scientific review "Science". The existence of the Israeli bombs is very well known (especially in France, because we gave it to Israel; see "Les deux bombes", by Pierre Pean, Fayard, Paris, 1982). Israel had its first bomb in 1966. Two or three years ago, Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli technician of the Dimona nuclear center, confirmed it to English newspapers (Sunday Times I think; I have the whole story elsewhere). He has then been kidnapped in Roma by the Mossad, condemned to something like 18 years jail. Several personalities, including Nobel prizes, pleaded for him, with no success. People generally thought that Israel had only several dozens bombs; according to Vanunu, it is far more than 100. Jean-Pierre Pharabod