Namor and weapons of mass destruction
Template:Infobox nukes Since the NMR 2300s, the People's Republic of Namor has possessed and developed weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons. Its first nuclear test occurred on Liberation Day (28 March) of NMR 2304, to coincide with the 14th anniversary of the Liberationist Revolution. Four years later the Namorese successfully conducted its first test for the hydrogen bomb in NMR 2308. Tests continued until Namor became a signatory of various treaties that banned nuclear tests, and cut back on its production and possession of chemical weapons.
The number of nuclear warheads in Namor's arsenal is a state secret and thus unknown, therefore there are many estimates on how many warheads Namor actually has. Scholars usually go by the conservative estimate of 3,000-4,500 nuclear warheads.
The Namorese government sees the possession of nuclear weapons as essential to Namor's diplomatic integrity and defense, especially amid growing emergence of nuclear powers in the world. But the Namorese government since NMR 2340 has assured the world that it is not a supporter for the usage of nuclear weapons, and goes by a no first use policy, as well as a policy that the government will only consider the usage of nuclear weapons if they are used by an enemy on Namorese soil first.
History
Since the Liberationist takeover of Namor following the Namorese Civil War in NMR 2290, Namorese leader Yunglang Antelope has long envisioned a Namor that was a nuclear power. Especially during turbulent times like the NMR 2290s and 2300s, when Namor's internal affairs were being consistently violated by its neighbors, Antelope believed that a quick Republican re-invasion of Namor would only be possible if their East Luziycan allies shipped them nuclear weapons and used them on the Namorese populace. The Namorese government feared that without nuclear weapons, its security would be harassed by neighboring countries. Antelope refused to have foreign allies ship nuclear weapons to Namor, either, believing that even when relations with these allies are strained at some point, Namor would still be self-sufficient when it comes to WMDs as long as it was able to possess and develop them.
An actual program to develop an atomic bomb began in NMR 2297, shortly after the Liberationist failure to wrestle Peitoa from Republican hands. Antelope and other top Namorese leaders were now convinced that the East Luziycan government had the willingness to use their nuclear weapons on Namor in order to help out the Republican regime. In a private discussion with fellow leaders that year, Antelope explained the Namorese dedication to developing weapons of mass destruction: "Other countries have it. So there is no reason why we cannot have it, either." The top leadership of the Namorese Liberation Army began appointing a board of scientists to develop an atomic bomb. Most of the scientists have previously studied abroad, therefore they were put into good use by the Liberationist establishment.
The first atomic bomb was detonated on March 28, NMR 2304 in the Ru Na Testing Site in Shanpei, coinciding with the 14th anniversary of the Liberationist Revolution.