Belhavia and weapons of mass destruction
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Belhavia is known to possess three types of weapons of mass destruction: nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons.
Following the development and use of nuclear weapons by Allied forces in the Great Eastern War in 1948 and emergence of nuclear-armed Communist bloc powers such as the DSRA and Tule in the late 1950s and 1960s, Belhavia developed its own nuclear program in 1962 under a presidential decree by Tory President Edward Kalian with substantial assistance from allies such as Emmeria, Arthurista, and others. This cut the development timeline significantly, enabling the Empire to achieve viable nuclear weapon status within just 6 years.
In military reciprocity and proportional second-strike capability, Belhavia also developed a defensive arsenal of chemical and biological weaponry. As of 2015, the nation has approximately 1,075 nuclear weapons, of which half are usable or in active or semi-active status.
Nuclear weaponry
In response to the general nuclear arms race of the 1950s and 1960s, and in particular to the threat of an expansionistic Communist Tule in nearby Australis, Belhavia started its own program in July 1962 and achieved its first nuclear test in November 1968. Between 1968 and 1992, the nation performed 47 nuclear tests, although some of the tests (especially the early ones) either failed, or were not designed to create a nuclear explosion.
In early 1993, newly-inaugurated President Garret Holleran signed a presidential decree prohibiting further nuclear tests unilaterally by Belhavia, fulfilling one of his campaign pledges. The decree has not been overturned by any of his successors.
Nuclear Triad
As part of a comprehensive nuclear deterrence doctrine, the Imperial Belhavian military created a three-ponged "nuclear triad" strategy of first- and second-strike capabilities.
Land-Based ICBMs
Approximately 180-215 ICBMs are based out of land-based covert launch silos. In 2005, the War Ministry admitted that land-based nuclear weapon-equipped silos exist on all major Belhavian colonial holdings. These are under the control of the Imperial Belhavian Army's Strategic Nuclear Command.
Nuclear bomber group
As of 2015, the Imperial Belhavian Air Force operates 36 Lion B.5 heavy strategic bombers and 15 B-6 stealth stratrgic bombers. The IAF is believed to control between 75-97 nuclear weapons.
In addition, the Belhavian military can also deploy smaller "tactical" nuclear weapons either through cruise missiles or with conventional fighter-bombers. The nation about 50-78 nuclear gravity bombs capable of use by F-9A-Ds and F2 LionessD-Es.
Sea-based ICBMs
The Imperial Belhavian Navy operates 4 Bastion-class submarines in its SLBM strategy. A fifth submarine was cancelled before completion as a cost-saving measure in the 2013 SNIA.
Approximately 230-305 nuclear missiles are based out of these four SLBM submarines.
Nuclear testing controversies
1960s-1970s
The World Council banned all atmospheric, terrestrial, and sub-aquatic nuclear testing in WC Resolution 005 in August 1967. Belhavia, under President Kalian, voted against the resolution. However, in August 1969, his successor, the strongly anti-nuclear weapons administration of President Vern Callan, announced his public intention for Belhavia to follow the resolution; however, the Imperial Belhavian Senate rebuked him and continued to signal its opposition to the WC resolution and explicitly authorized and funded the Belhavian military continued to test in remote locations.
The country performed 10 nuclear tests between April 1968 and January 1973, when Callan enlarged his majority in the Senate and elected a more radically-left Liberal Democratic freshman class of senators who opposed nuclear weapons. With his new majority, he passed legislation conforming to the WC resolution.
In May 1968, Tule filed a claim against Belhavia in the World Council Grand Tribunal alleging the blatant violation of the resolution by its first admitted atmospheric test a month earlier. All four Anticommunist members and the Presiding Chief of the body and Non-aligned power, Prestonia, voted 5-4 to dismiss the claim in a three-sentence order.
After its first fusion test in 1970, the Communist bloc in a per curiam-style filed a claim at the Tribunal under the same charges as from 1968, and lobbied the Arthuristan government strongly to side against Belhavia; however, Arthurista voted with the Anticommunist bloc and Prestonia and again dismissed the claim.
However, in 1972 after several consecutively-conducted nuclear aquatic tests in the Antarctic Ocean, Tule and the DSRA filed yet again another claim against Belhavia now that Non-aligned power but local geopolitical foe Estovakiva was head of the Tribunal. This time, Estovakiva voted with the four Communist members to indict Belhavia as guilty. In a moment that has become infamous in history, the Estovakivan delegation then voted with the Anticommunist members to decline to invoke any police powers or resolutionary solutions against Belhavia in what most historians believe was "undue pressure" from Belfras over bilateral trade ties.