The following countries have either attempted to develop, actually built, or bought weapons of mass destruction, including biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.
The following countries have either attempted to develop, actually built, or bought weapons of mass destruction, including biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.
Legend:
| Programs per country | Biological | Chemical | Nuclear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | N | F | N |
| Algeria | N | N | A |
| Argentina | N | N | A |
| Australia | N | F | A |
| Brazil | N | N | A |
| Bulgaria | N | F | F |
| Canada | F | F | F |
| China | P | F | C |
| Egypt | N | C | N |
| France | F | F | C |
| Germany | F | F | S |
| India | N | F | C |
| Iran | N | F | D |
| Iraq | F | F | A |
| Israel | P | P | P |
| Italy | F | F | S |
| Japan | F | F | A |
| Kazakhstan | N | N | F |
| Libya | N | F | A |
| Mexico | N | N | A |
| Myanmar | N | P | P |
| Netherlands | N | F | S |
| North Korea | C | C | C |
| Pakistan | N | N | C |
| Philippines | N | N | A |
| Poland | N | N | F |
| Rhodesia | F | F | N |
| Romania | N | N | A |
| Russia | C | C | C |
| Saudi Arabia | N | N | P |
| South Africa | F | F | F |
| South Korea | N | N | A |
| Spain | N | N | A |
| Sweden | N | F | A |
| Switzerland | N | F | A |
| Syria | N | C | P |
| Taiwan | P | F | A |
| Ukraine | N | N | F |
| United Kingdom | F | F | C |
| United States | F | F | C |
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion reactions, producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.
A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, self-defense, warfare, or suicide. In broader context, weapons may be construed to include anything used to gain a tactical, strategic, material, or mental advantage over an adversary or enemy target.
The ballista, plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target.
Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.
Project Coast was a 1980s top-secret chemical and biological weapons (CBW) program instituted by the apartheid-era government of South Africa. Project Coast was the successor to a limited postwar CBW program, which mainly produced the lethal agents CX powder and mustard gas, as well as non-lethal tear gas for riot control purposes. The program was headed by the cardiologist Wouter Basson, who was also the personal physician of South African Prime Minister P. W. Botha.
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke, or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The most common type are man-portable, shoulder-fired weapons issued to individuals, although larger crew-served launchers are issued at higher levels of organization by military forces.
A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly proved their value in precision strikes of difficult point targets. These weapons use on-board electronics to track targets that are designated by laser, typically in the infrared spectrum, and adjust their glide path to accurately strike the target. Since the weapon is tracking a light signature, not the object itself, the target must be illuminated from a separate source, either by ground forces, by a pod on the attacking aircraft, or by a separate support aircraft.
The XM29 OICW was a series of prototypes of a new type of assault rifle that fired 20 mm HE airbursting projectiles. The prototypes were developed as part of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon program in the 1990s. The term SABR was also used at certain points, but is less common.
A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.
The RSD-10 Pioneer was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. It carried GRAU designation 15Ж45 (15Zh45). Its NATO reporting name was SS-20 Saber.
The nuclear arms race was an arms race competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. During this same period, in addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries developed nuclear weapons, though no other country engaged in warhead production on nearly the same scale as the two superpowers.
Novichok is a family of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993. Some Novichok agents are solids at standard temperature and pressure, while others are liquids. Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state.
The United States was the first country to manufacture nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in combat, with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Before and during the Cold War, it conducted 1,054 nuclear tests, and tested many long-range nuclear weapons delivery systems.
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its differences to first-generation nuclear bombs affords it any combination of greater destructive power, a more compact size or a lower mass. Characteristics of nuclear fusion reactions make possible the use of non-fissile depleted uranium as the weapon's main fuel, thus allowing more efficient use of scarce fissile material such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239. The first full-scale thermonuclear test was carried out by the United States in 1952 and the concept has since been employed by most of the world's nuclear powers in the design of their weapons.
EA-3167 is a potent and long-lasting anticholinergic deliriant drug, related to the chemical warfare agent 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) and to the bronchodilator drug tiotropium bromide. It was developed under contract to Edgewood Arsenal during the 1960s as part of the US military chemical weapons program, in an attempt to develop non-lethal incapacitating agents. EA-3167 has identical effects to QNB, but is even more potent and longer-lasting, with an effective dose when administered by injection of as little as 2.5 μg/kg, and a duration of 120–240 hours. However unlike QNB, EA-3167 was never weaponized or manufactured in bulk.
Ammunition is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target.
Chuck Hansen was the compiler, over a period of 30 years, of the world's largest private collection of unclassified documents on how America developed atomic and thermonuclear weapons.
The ADS is a Russian assault rifle specially made for combat divers. It is of a bullpup layout and is chambered in the 5.45×39mm M74 round. The ADS can adapt a suppressor and optical sights.
Biological warfare (BW)—also known as bacteriological warfare, or germ warfare—has had a presence in popular culture for over 100 years. Public interest in it became intense during the Cold War, especially the 1960s and '70s, and continues unabated. This article comprises a list of popular culture works referencing BW or bioterrorism, but not those pertaining to natural, or unintentional, epidemics.