India, US, Israel And Others: How These 9 Countries Acquired Nuclear Weapons

NDTV

19-06-2025

For over three decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consistently claimed Iran was months away from becoming a nuclear power and that it posed an existential threat to his nation. His alarms, dating back to the 1990s, have often clashed with assessments by US intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), both of which say Iran halted its weapons programme in 2003.
In June, a day before the US and Iran were to discuss a new nuclear deal, Israel launched preemptive strikes on Tehran 's nuclear sites in Natanz and Arak, citing urgent intelligence. Israel called the move necessary to stop an "irreversible" nuclear threat and avert a potential "holocaust."
Nine countries currently possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. Together, they hold nearly 13,000 nuclear warheads, with the US and Russia alone accounting for about 90 per cent of the total. Here's how each became a nuclear power:
How They Got the Bomb
United States
The US was the first country to develop nuclear weapons during World War II under the Manhattan Project. In July 1945, it conducted the world's first nuclear test (Trinity Test) and dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August that year.
Russia (Formerly The Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union tested its first nuclear bomb in 1949, four years after the US. Aided by homegrown research and intelligence obtained through espionage from the Manhattan Project, the USSR, by the 60s, built the world's largest nuclear arsenal, eventually surpassing the US in total warheads.
United Kingdom
The UK, initially part of WWII nuclear research, was later excluded from the US Manhattan Project. It developed its own bomb and tested it in 1952, later strengthening its programme through a nuclear cooperation deal with the US.
France
France developed an independent nuclear programme to assert global power post-WWII, testing its first bomb in Algeria in 1960. It later built thermonuclear weapons and maintained a "force de frappe", a fully French-controlled deterrent delivered by air and submarines.
China
With early help from the Soviet Union, China tested its first nuclear bomb in 1964 at Lop Nur. After the Sino-Soviet split, it advanced independently, achieving thermonuclear capability by 1967. Today, China is rapidly growing its arsenal, with over 500 warheads reportedly in development.
India
India carried out its first nuclear test in 1974, called "Smiling Buddha," under the label of a "peaceful nuclear explosion." India's nuclear weapons programme is purely indigenous, with scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and DRDO playing a critical role that led to India becoming a nuclear weapons state after a full test series in 1998 (Pokhran-II). India cited deterrence, particularly against China and Pakistan, as its motive.
Pakistan
In response to India's 1974 test, Pakistan ramped up its nuclear programme under physicist AQ Khan, allegedly with help from China. It conducted its first nuclear tests in May 1998, shortly after India's Pokhran-II. Pakistan continues to expand its arsenal, with a focus on short-range tactical nukes that raise concerns about regional escalation.
Israel
Israel is widely believed to have developed nuclear weapons by the late 1960s, aided by France in building the Dimona facility. Though it has never confirmed or denied its arsenal, US intelligence estimates it holds around 80-90 warheads. Israel follows a policy of "nuclear opacity" and has never conducted an acknowledged test.
North Korea
North Korea began developing nuclear infrastructure in the 1960s with Soviet support. It joined the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) in 1985 but withdrew in 2003, and conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. Since then, it has carried out several tests and claims to have miniaturised warheads for missiles.
Nations That Gave Up Nuclear Weapons
Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, became independent nations after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and acquired a huge cache of warheads. These countries voluntarily gave up their nuclear arsenal and became signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
South Africa reportedly collaborated with France and Israel in the 1970s to develop a nuclear weapon. A planned nuclear test in the Kalahari Desert was first halted in 1977. Roughly 12 years later, following continuous international pressure, the country dropped its plan to become a nuclear power.