Israel’s Nuclear Weapons: What You Need to Know

Key Points – While Israel launched a massive preemptive air assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 13th, it possesses a significant, albeit officially unacknowledged, nuclear arsenal of its own for deterrence.

-Believed to have had nuclear weapons since 1966, Israel’s stockpile is estimated at around 90 plutonium-based warheads.

-This capability is delivered via a nuclear triad consisting of aircraft (likely F-16s and potentially F-35Is), land-based ballistic missiles (the Jericho II and Jericho III with ranges up to 4,000 km), and a potential sea-based second-strike capability from its Dolphin-class submarines, though this remains unconfirmed.

Israel’s Nuclear Weapons Inventory: Armed For Iran

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacked Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities early on Friday morning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Iran’s top nuclear facilities had been hit in the airstrike against the regime.

“Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs, nine,” Netanyahu said.

“In recent months, Iran is taking steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.”

Just a few hours later, Israeli officials confirmed that Iran launched approximately 100 retaliatory drones toward Israeli territory, which the IDF was working to intercept.

Israel launched a second airstrike in daylight hours, which speaks volumes about how little they fear Iran’s air defenses. It was also reported that Mossad, Israel’s secret intelligence service, had smuggled drones into Iran and, at the commencement of the airstrikes, used the drones to attack the ballistic missile defenses of Iran.

“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program,” Netanyahu said in a live press conference. “We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz.

“We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb,” he added.

Israel characterized the airstrikes as pre-emptive, knowing that Iran would use nuclear weapons on them as soon as they were ready. Now, they’ve taken unilateral action to stop Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon.

Although the focus is on Iran’s nuclear program right now, Israel has nuclear weapons of its own and has for quite some time.

Israel Has Had Nuclear Weapons Since 1966

Israel is known to possess nuclear weapons, though the country neither acknowledges nor denies the existence of a nuclear arsenal. Israel is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has not accepted IAEA safeguards on some of its principal atomic activities.

Most estimates believe that Israel possesses about 90 plutonium-based nuclear warheads and has produced enough plutonium for 100-200 weapons. Israel appears focused strictly on survival and does not seek to threaten other nuclear-armed states.

The plutonium for Israel’s nuclear weapons program was produced by a reactor built with French assistance. The IRR-2 research reactor at the Negev Nuclear Research Center is commonly referred to by the city that hosts it, Dimona. It is officially a 26-megawatt thermal reactor, but some believe that is an underestimation of its capacity.

Israel’s Nuclear Triad

Aircraft: Israel maintains the US-produced F-15, F-16, and F-35 aircraft, which are all capable of carrying nuclear gravity bombs with modification. The F-15 has a range of 3,500 kilometers, but it is unknown if it has been modified to serve a nuclear role.

The F-16 has a shorter range of 1,600 kilometers and is the most likely aircraft to serve a nuclear role, as it does for the US nuclear force and some other NATO members.

However, Israel is in the process of replacing the F-16 with the F-35I, which the United States has also given a nuclear mission. Israel is scheduled to receive the remaining 50 F-35 stealth aircraft by 2024 and is considering purchasing an additional 25 F-35s from the United States.

The F-35I Adir,  Israel’s variant, was used in October for the airstrikes against Iran’s air defenses and nuclear research facility.

Submarine Launched Missile Boats: Israel’s six Dolphin-class submarines could be fitted with a modified cruise missile for land attack, but Israel won’t confirm or deny its capability.

Even if these submarines are nuclear-capable or could be retrofitted for a nuclear purpose, that would not confirm that Israel would or could keep one nuclear submarine continuously deployed at sea.

The lack of a secure second-strike capability would support the argument that Israel relies on a credible minimum deterrent.

Land-Based Missiles: Israel possesses the Jericho II, with a range of over 1,500 kilometers, and the Jericho III, which may have a range of up to 4,000 kilometers.

The Jericho program originated from an agreement in the early 1960s with the French company Dassault to produce a surface-to-surface ballistic missile.

Production was transferred to Israel after the Six-Day War in June 1967 because France imposed an embargo on new military equipment. The Jericho II was developed with South Africa and replaced the Jericho I in the early 1990s.

There isn’t clarity around how many Jericho missiles Israel has in total and how many are nuclear-capable. It is assumed that some of these missiles are nuclear-capable, with estimates ranging from the likely 24 to as many as 50-100.

About the Author:

Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.

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