Namibia hosts major nuclear test detection drill with 250 experts
A major nuclear test verification exercise is underway in Namibia's desert, involving 250 experts testing capabilities to detect nuclear weapons tests. This is the first large-scale drill on African soil under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty framework, which 188 countries have signed.
Brève Publié le (Africa/Lagos, UTC+1)
Experts from around the world have gathered in the Namibian desert to conduct a nuclear test verification exercise under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) framework.
The exercise, which runs until 20 November, involves 250 experts testing the CTBT’s on-site inspection system designed to determine whether a nuclear weapons test explosion has occurred.
This is the third such Integrated Field Exercise in the 30-year history of the CTBTO and the first major exercise conducted on the African continent, according to Oleg Rozhkov, Director of the CTBTO’s On-site Inspection Division.
The CTBT, which prohibits all nuclear weapons test explosions, has been signed by 188 of the 196 countries worldwide, signaling a strong global norm against nuclear testing despite not yet entering into force.
Before the Treaty opened for signature in 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests had been conducted globally, with fewer than a dozen since then.
The Namibian-hosted exercise aims to prove that the CTBTO’s verification capabilities can effectively establish facts and ascertain nuclear test activities when needed.