South Africa and weapons of mass destruction

South Africa developed six or seven cannon-type fission nuclear bombs in the 1980s. The enriched uranium for the bombs was provided by two research reactors, Valindaba and Pelindaba, both near Johannesburg.

None of the six bombs was especially sophisticated, being designed to be delivered from one of the aircraft types then in service with the South African Air Force, presumed to have been either the Buccaneer or Cheetah D.

However, South Africa had a relatively sophisticated Intercontinental Ballistic Missile programme running concurrently with the nuclear programme, and was known to be working on more sophisticated nuclear weapons capable of delivery from such a platform. According to published data one of the missiles, the RSA-4, may have been capable of delivering a 700kg nuclear warhead from its South African launch site to any point on earth.

Following then-President F.W. de Klerk's decision in 1990 to dismantle apartheid and pave the way for democratic elections, both programmes were cancelled. All the bombs (six constructed and one under construction) were destroyed and South Africa signed and ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1991. Subsequent to this, in 1993 de Klerk admitted the scope of the country's past nuclear activities and gave the IAEA access to the country's nuclear sites in order to verify its disarmament. By 1994 this process was complete, with the IAEA being satisfied that South Africa's nuclear programme had been converted to peaceful use. As a result South Africa joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a full member on 5 April 1995.

South Africa is also known to have had a fairly advanced chemical and biological weapons capability, run under the codename of "Project Coast". This programme was shut down at around the same time as the dismantling of the country's nuclear weapons programme.

See also

• Vela Incident