Non-Proliferation Success Story

Presented by:Rashid Al Suwaidi

Motivations of Sweden Security assurances

and regional security

Keep up with

technical developments in weaponry

Defend against USSR.

Sweden Nuclear Weapon Program

Plutonium problem Purchase nuclear material from US Planned nuclear devices Planned delivery systems

Plutonium Problem Had plutonium for

research purpose Not weapon grade

plutonium Could reprocess but did

not have the capacity Required uranium

facility, heavy water reactor and reprocessing

Purchase Nuclear Material from US In 1954, Sweden decided to buy NW

from US As non-NATO state required a mutual

defense agreement as a minimum requirement.

Required Sweden renouncing non-alignment.

In 1960, US National Security council decided they will not help Sweden acquire NW.

Nuclear Devices Pu- 239 as fissile material. Early designs had a bomb 400-500

kg with a 35 cm diameter.

Schematic design of a 1956 Swedish atomic bomb (which was never built)

Planned Delivery System Focus on bombs

dropped by aircraft Developing Saab

306 but cancelled project in 1957

Robot 330 project from 1957 to 1959 was cancelled due to high costs

Progress of the Program No strategic

bombs developed , so only tactical weapons was possible.

Plutonium was limited so no nuclear weapons developed.

Abandoning the program Plutonium enrichment

challenges Increasing costs No proper delivery

systems Ongoing

disarmament negotiations

More efficient to focus on conventional forces

Public opinion

Lessons learned Developing a NW

program is too costly

Plutonium is difficult to acquire

Better to develop conventional forces

Diplomacy is easier