page_title: Switzerland and weapons of mass destruction
section_title: Military nuclear program
hierarchical_section_title: Switzerland and weapons of mass destruction / Military nuclear program
caption_attribution_description: Paul Scherrer's photo
context_page_description: Switzerland made detailed plans to acquire and test nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Less than two weeks after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Swiss government started studying the possibility of building nuclear weapons, and continued its military nuclear program for 43 years until 1988. It has since signed and ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Switzerland never possessed biological weapons, but did have a program of the Swiss Army high command to develop and test chemical weapons.
context_section_description: On 15 August 1945, Hans Frick, a colonel in the Swiss military, sent a letter to Federal Councillor Karl Kobelt requesting that Switzerland study the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons in order to defend itself. The Federal Council authorized the creation of a commission to do such in November 1945. Efforts "were well under way" in 1945.
  On 8 June 1946, the Study Commission for Nuclear Energy (Schweizerische Studienkommission für Atomenergie – SKA) was created by the Swiss government under the leadership of Dr. Paul Scherrer, a physicist and professor at ETH Zurich. The commission had the objective of studying the civil use of atomic energy and the secret objective of studying the scientific and technical basis for building nuclear weapons. The activity of this group was low and only slow progress was made; however the events of the Cold War, especially the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 and the nuclear arms race of the mid-1950s, provided new impetus. While his specific role is questioned, Scherrer played an important role in the Swiss nuclear program.
  The secret Study Commission for the Possible Acquisition of Own Nuclear Arms was instituted by Chief of General Staff Louis de Montmollin with a meeting on 29 March 1957. The aim of the commission was to give the Swiss Federal Council an orientation towards "the possibility of the acquisition of nuclear arms in Switzerland." The recommendations of the commission were ultimately favorable.
  The Federal Council released a public statement on 11 July 1958 stating that although a world without nuclear weapons was in Switzerland's interest, its neighboring countries adopting nuclear weapons would force it to do likewise. On 23 December 1958 the Federal Council instructed the Military Department to study the logistics and execution of attaining nuclear arms. However, efforts remained focused on study and planning rather than implementation.
  In a referendum held in April 1962, the Swiss people rejected a proposal to ban nuclear weapons within the country. The next year in May, Swiss voters again rejected a referendum that would have required Swiss voters to approve of the Armed Forces being equipped in nuclear weapons if it chose to do so.
  By 1963, planning had proceeded to the point that detailed technical proposals, specific arsenals, and cost estimates were made. On 15 November 1963, Dr. Paul Schmid prepared a 58-page report laying the theoretical foundations for Swiss nuclear armaments. On 28 November 1963, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff estimated that the costs of building a uranium bomb at 720 million Swiss francs over 35 years, initially including 20 million francs for pure research, that would be needed for planning. It also calculated that, should the decision be for plutonium instead of highly enriched uranium, then the estimate would be 2,100 million francs over 27 years. On 4 May 1964, the military joint staff issued a recommendation to have about 100 bombs (60–100 kilotons), 50 artillery shells (5 kt), and 100 rockets (100 kt) within the next 15 years, at costs of about 750 million Swiss francs. There were plans for 7 underground nuclear tests in "uninhabited regions" of Switzerland – a location with a radius of 2–3 kilometers (1.2–1.9 mi) "that can be sealed off completely."
  In addition to this, Switzerland purchased uranium and stored it in nuclear reactors purchased from the United States, the first of which was built in 1960. Between 1953 and 1955, Switzerland procured around 10 metric tons (11 short tons) of enriched uranium from the Belgian Congo with the authorization of the U.S. and United Kingdom (Switzerland had also considered purchasing from the Republic of China and the Union of South Africa). 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds) were stored in the Diorit reactor in Würenlingen, while a stockpile of 3,238 kg (7,139 lb) of uranium and 2,283 kg (5,033 lb) of uranium oxide was stored at Wimmis until 1981, and it was not covered by the international safeguards meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Additionally, in 1969, the Swiss govern
caption: Paul Scherrer in the late 1940s. He played an important role in the Swiss nuclear program.
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