Editing Nuclear weapon (section)

== Testing and deployment ==
Nuclear weapons have only twice been used in warfare, both times by the [[United States]] against [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] at the end of [[World War II]]. On August 6, 1945, the [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) detonated a [[uranium]] gun-type [[fission bomb]] nicknamed "[[Little Boy]]" over the Japanese city of [[Hiroshima]]; three days later, on August 9, the USAAF<ref>{{Cite web |title=The U S Army Air Forces in World War II |url=https://www.afhistory.af.mil/FAQs/Fact-Sheets/Article/458967/the-u-s-army-air-forces-in-world-war-ii/https://www.afhistory.af.mil/FAQs/Fact-Sheets/Article/458967/the-u-s-army-air-forces-in-world-war-ii/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Air Force Historical Support Division |language=en-US }}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> detonated a [[plutonium]] implosion-type fission bomb nicknamed "[[Fat Man]]" over the Japanese city of [[Nagasaki]]. These bombings caused injuries that resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 [[civilian]]s and [[military personnel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html |title=Frequently Asked Questions #1 |publisher=[[Radiation Effects Research Foundation]] |quote=total number of deaths is not known precisely ... acute (within two to four months) deaths ... Hiroshima ... 90,000–166,000 ... Nagasaki ... 60,000–80,000 |access-date=September 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919143939/http://www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html |archive-date=September 19, 2007 }}</ref> The ethics of these bombings and their role in [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's surrender]] are to this day, still [[debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|subjects of debate]].

Since the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]], nuclear weapons have been detonated over 2,000 times for [[nuclear weapons testing|testing]] and demonstration. Only [[list of states with nuclear weapons|a few nations]] possess such weapons or are suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and acknowledge possessing them—are (chronologically by date of first test) the [[United States and weapons of mass destruction|United States]], the [[Soviet Union]] (succeeded as a nuclear power by [[Russia and weapons of mass destruction|Russia]]), the [[United Kingdom and weapons of mass destruction|United Kingdom]], [[France and weapons of mass destruction|France]], [[China and weapons of mass destruction|China]], [[India and weapons of mass destruction|India]], [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|Pakistan]], and [[North Korea and weapons of mass destruction|North Korea]]. [[Israel and weapons of mass destruction|Israel]] is believed to possess nuclear weapons, though, in a [[policy of deliberate ambiguity]], it does not acknowledge having them.<ref name="nuclearweapons1">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/nukestatus.html |title=Federation of American Scientists: Status of World Nuclear Forces |publisher=Fas.org |access-date=December 29, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102173724/http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/nukestatus.html |archive-date=January 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/index.html |title=Nuclear Weapons – Israel |publisher=Fas.org |date=January 8, 2007 |access-date=December 15, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207122117/http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/index.html |archive-date=December 7, 2010}}</ref>{{efn|See also [[Mordechai Vanunu]]}} [[Germany]], [[Italy]], [[Turkey]], [[Belgium]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[Belarus]] are [[Nuclear sharing|nuclear weapons sharing]] states.<ref name="nuclearweapons1" /> [[South Africa]] is the only country to have [[South Africa and weapons of mass destruction|independently developed]] and then [[South Africa and weapons of mass destruction#Dismantling|renounced and dismantled]] its nuclear weapons.<ref name="Nuclear Threat Initiatives, South Africa (NTI South Africa)">{{cite web|last=Executive release|title=South African nuclear bomb|url=http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/south-africa/nuclear/|website=Nuclear Threat Initiatives|publisher=Nuclear Threat Initiatives, South Africa (NTI South Africa)|access-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928185925/http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/south-africa/nuclear/|archive-date=September 28, 2012}}</ref>

The [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]] aims to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, but there are different views of its effectiveness.<ref>Ian Lowe, "Three minutes to midnight", ''[[Australasian Science]]'', March 2016, p. 49.</ref>