These are missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The Washington Post: The array will allow Israel to respond to Iraq and Iran's attempts to destroy its nuclear weapons
Former US military officers and US State Department officials say that Israel has armed three submarines with new cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the Washington Post reports today (Saturday).
The new development will give Israel a naval alternative to launching missiles, which until now has been done from the land and from the air. So far, Israel has refused to say whether it has nuclear weapons, but American experts claim that it has a small stockpile of nuclear weapons.
According to former Pentagon officials, Israel conducted a test of new cruise missiles in the Indian Ocean, near Sri Lanka, two years ago. Although American experts have analyzed the missile's nuclear capability, a former senior Pentagon official said that "the issue of whether the submarine's missiles are armed with nuclear warheads is at the 'top secret' level."
The option of launching missiles from the sea will allow Israel to respond to the attempt by Iraq and Iran to develop missiles capable of destroying its nuclear weapons.
The publication in the Washington Post follows the publication this week of a book by the Carnegie Institute for World Peace. The book claims that Israel tried to arm its diesel submarines with nuclear warheads and conducted a sea-launched test of missiles with a range of 900 miles (1,450 km) in May 2000.
