SIPRI Yearbook 2011
IX. Israeli nuclear forces
Israel continues to maintain its long-standing policy of nuclear opacity: it neither officially confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons.122
Table 7.9. Israeli nuclear forces, January 2011
Type |
Range (km)a |
Payload (kg) |
Status |
---|---|---|---|
Aircraftb |
|||
F-16A/B/C/D/I Falcon |
1 600 |
5 400 |
205 aircraft in the inventory; some are believed to be certified for nuclear weapon delivery |
Ballistic missilesc |
|||
Jericho II |
1 500–1 800 |
750–1 000 |
c. 50 missiles; first deployed in 1990; test-launched on 27 June 2001 |
Jericho III |
>4 000 |
1 000–1 300 |
Test-launched on 17 Jan. 2008; status unknown |
(a) Aircraft range is for illustrative purposes only; actual mission range will vary. Missile payloads may have to be reduced in order to achieve maximum range.
(b) Some of Israel’s 25 F-15I aircraft may also have a long-range nuclear delivery role.
(c) The Shavit space launch vehicle, if converted to a ballistic missile, could deliver a 775-kg payload to a distance of 4000 km.
Sources: Cohen, A., The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel’s Bargain with the Bomb (Columbia University Press: New York, 2010); Cohen, A. and Burr, W., ‘Israel crosses the threshold’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 62, no. 3 (May/June 2006); Cohen, A., Israel and the Bomb (Columbia University Press: New York, 1998); Albright, D., Berkhout, F. and Walker, W., SIPRI, Plutonium and Highly Enriched Uranium 1996: World Inventories, Capabilities and Policies (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1997); Jane’s Strategic Weapon Systems, various issues; Fetter, S., ‘Israeli ballistic missile capabilities’, Physics and Society, vol. 19, no. 3 (July 1990)—for an updated analysis, see unpublished ‘A ballistic missile primer’, <http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/Fetter/Publications>; ‘Nuclear notebook’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, various issues; and authors’ estimates.
- Citation (MLA):
- Kile, Shannon N., Vitaly Fedchenko, Bharath Gopalaswamy, and Hans M. Kristensen. "7. World nuclear forces." SIPRI Yearbook. SIPRI. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2025. <https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-82.xml>.
- Citation (APA):
- Kile, S., Fedchenko, V., Gopalaswamy, B., & Kristensen, H. (2016). 7. World nuclear forces. In SIPRI, SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 Feb. 2025, from https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-82.xml
- Citation (Chicago):
- Kile, Shannon N., Vitaly Fedchenko, Bharath Gopalaswamy, and Hans M. Kristensen. "7. World nuclear forces." In SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, SIPRI. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016). Retrieved 16 Feb. 2025, from https://www.sipriyearbook.org/view/9780199695522/sipri-9780199695522-div1-82.xml
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