Nuclear weapons in the International Democratic Union
Nuclear weapons, including both strategic and tactical varieties, are maintained by numerous sovereign states on Earth in the International Democratic Union, with varying numbers of warheads and delivery capabilities. Although the Strategic Arms Limitation and Imposition on Emerging Nuclear Technologies (SALIENT) Treaty has largely been successful in constraining the size of nuclear arsenals, the lack of a major anti-proliferation treaty or customary norm against proliferation has lead to the widespread development of state nuclear programs. Nuclear testing, meanwhile, is constrained by the International Agreement on the Limitation of Nuclear Testing (IALNT). Nuclear weapons have only once been used in wartime, with the 1998 Atomic Decimation in Iskiram during the Iskiram War of Unity. The Decimation resulted in the death of over 136,000 people, many of them civilians, in the city of Foujil.
The worldwide Anti-nuclear movement, which seeks to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in existence due to its threat to human life and the biosphere, has existed for decades.
History
Darya Paperclip, first detonation
Nuclear Arms Control
SALIENT Treaty
The Strategic Arms Limitation and Imposition on Emerging Nuclear Technologies (SALIENT) Treaty, ratified in 1974, is a global treaty limiting the size of strategic nuclear arms stockpiles. Under the treaty, states which possessed nuclear weapons as of January 1st, 1974 were limited to a cap of 300 nuclear warheads, while nations afterwards were limited to 200 warheads. Treaty signatories are also subject to inspections by IONC (International Organization for Nuclear Cooperation) inspectors.
This treaty is the most significant component of the global nuclear arms control regime.
New SALIENT
New SALIENT was an attempt to achieve multilateral nuclear disarmament via a proposed plan for nuclear states possessing over 60 warheads to slash their stockpiles by 40%. Talks, held in New Liverpool, Slokais Islands in 2011 at the behest of Laeralian President Nicholas Brennan ultimately failed to reach a final agreement.
International Agreement on the Limitation of Nuclear Testing
The International Agreement on the Limitation of Nuclear Testing (IALNT), which bans nuclear testing in the atmosphere, in space, and underwater, was prompted by fears of environmental radiation contamination, and was initially ratified by six nuclear powers in 1983 and has achieved widespread adoption in subsequent decades.
The Matriarchy of Kerlile refused to adopt the treaty due to the relative infancy of their nuclear program compared with other nuclear powers.
Strategic Nuclear Armament Prohibition Treaty
The Strategic Nuclear Armament Prohibition Treaty (SNAP) Treaty, which prohibits the use, development, and possession of strategic nuclear weapons by state parties, was drafted by numerous non-nuclear states in an effort to stigmatise the existence of nuclear weapons. It also includes a provision prohibiting providing assistance to other states in engaging in these activities, and a process through which states possessing nuclear weapons may safely and effectively disarm their stockpiles. As of 2023, the treaty had not yet received the required number of signatures to enter into force, and no state possessing nuclear weapons has signed it.
Bilateral and Regional Treaties
Nuclear Weapon Capabilities by Country
No-first-use policies: Huenya.
| Country | Strategic Warheads | Tactical Warheads | First Test | Number of Tests | Treaty Status | Delivery Methods | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Deployed | Total | Deployed | Date | Site | SALIENT | IALNT | SNAP | ||||
| 30[a] | 0 | 1999-03-13 | Restricted Region, Kerlile | 4 | Non-signatory | Non-signatory | Non-signatory | Strategic bomber | [b] | |||
| 140 | 64 | 1970-02-28 | Yihui Valley, Xueyan SAR | Ratified | Submarine, strategic bomber | |||||||
| Libertas Omnium Maximus | 50 | 16 | 1966-06-26 | Cambria Desert, Cambria | Ratified | Ballistic missile | [c] | |||||
| 300[d] | 220[e] | (Operation First Light) | Ratified (with interpretative declaration)[f] | Non-signatory | Non-signatory | Nuclear triad | ||||||
| 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1982-01-01 (Operation New Year) | Burton Plains, Opthelia | 11 | Acceded | Ratified | Non-signatory | Strategic bomber | [g] | |
- ↑ Estimated number as Kerlile does not allow inspections or publish information.
- ↑ Currently still attempting to develop ICBMs that would allow for delivery of nuclear warheads, however no successful tests have yet taken place.
- ↑ Allegedly violated IALNT provisions during a practical defense systems test in 1989 involving an atmospheric detonation.
- ↑ 120 × NBM-11 nuclear ballistic missiles (submarine- and ship-launched); 80 × NBM-72 nuclear ballistic missiles (air-launched); 100 × NBM-35 nuclear ballistic missiles (ground-launched).
- ↑ 6 × NBM-11 nuclear ballistic missiles aboard 10 designated Cobra-class ballistic missile submarines; 6 × NBM-11 nuclear ballistic missiles aboard 10 designated Sagittarius-class guided missile cruisers; 5 × NBM-35 nuclear ballistic missiles stationed at 20 designated ballistic missile launch sites. The 4 × NBM-72 nuclear ballistic missiles aboard 20 designated B-90 Javelins are not deployed, unless the Novella Islands is at a state of war with another nuclear power.
- ↑ The Novella Islands considers multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) as a single weapon, under the restrictions of the SALIENT Treaty. To this effect, it entered an interpretative declaration stating that "[t]he Social Republic of the Novella Islands interprets the definition of nuclear ballistic missile to include a single launching device as a whole, at the moment of launch, regardless of the subsequent changes to the missile's structure or form while in flight."
- ↑ Opthelia conducted only 11 nuclear tests before signing and ratifying the IALNT; as a result, it has only ever possessed its original gravity bomb design, the New Year-type. In practice, although this design is employed within a strategic role by Opthelia, other nations have developed and deployed tactical nuclear weapons with far greater yields.