NuDiVe-VR – Practising the inspected disarmament of nuclear weapons
Thousands of nuclear weapons are kept on standby around the world for the purpose of military deterrence, posing a major risk to the security and survival of humanity. https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/
A verification regime is often cited as a prerequisite for the disarmament of nuclear arsenals: a comprehensive set of rules according to which the dismantling of warheads can be monitored and is traceable for all states involved.
This monitoring is to take place through multilateral inspections. The inspectors are walking a fine line here: on the one hand, they have to collect enough data to prove beyond doubt that all warhead components have been dismantled and where they are. On the other hand, the warheads are closely guarded military secrets about which the inspectors are hardly allowed to obtain any information.
In order for a nuclear disarmament inspection to succeed nevertheless, a complex interplay of methods in technologies is required, which are being researched by the international IPNDV network of experts, among others.
Practical exercises are essential to test the procedures developed. The largest such disarmament exercise, NuDiVe, was organised by Germany and France and carried out in Jülich in 2019.
