Military power of France & Israel

France managed to research and develop its own nuclear weapon in 1960. The test, known as, Gerboise Bleue, was the result of mostly French research. One of the main figures that played crucial role in the entire process of developing the bomb was General Pierre Marie Gallois. He was concerned that the Suez Crisis, which started in 1956, would show the world how insignificant France became, since out of all Great Powers in the world, they were the only one without possessing its own nuclear arsenal. The tests were conducted on the terrains of Sahara Desert.

At this moment France owns 300 nuclear warheads, out of which almost all are deployed. What is more, compared to Great Britain, they made more tests, approximately 210. Noteworthy is the fact that the development of the first nuclear bomb in France as well as its tests were a bit controversial. It was due to the fact that France allowed Israeli observers to attend the tests, providing them with almost unrestricted access to all the data. It was quite important, since Israel, together with United Kingdom and France, were trying to invade Egypt.

Although not certain, there is a rumour that Israel was the sixth country in the world that managed to research and develop their own nuclear arsenal. However, they did not confirm that fact. Still, a lot of sources claim that they managed to prepare fully working nuclear warheads in 1966. In spite of such early dates, Israel has not joined the NPT. Up to this day, they do not confirm nor deny the possibility of having nuclear arsenal. As a result of that, Israel is said to apply quite effective, yet affordable deterring policy.

According to many organizations, the estimated numbers of nuclear weapons that Israel possesses varies from 80 up to even 200 ready to be launched nuclear weapons. What is more, there are also rumours that Israel managed to prepare special missiles that can be operational from submarines.

18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; 1-year service obligation; women serve in noncombat post.

18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druzes) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 36 months for enlisted men, 21 months for enlisted women, 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9 years service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), 24 (women).