The process of checking the number and types of nuclear weapons held by a country in accordance with negotiated limits. The chief means are:
reconnaissance satellites that detect submarines or weapon silos, using angled cameras to give three-dimensional pictures of installations, penetrating camouflage by means of scanners, and partially seeing through cloud and darkness by infrared devices;
telemetry or radio transmission of instrument readings;
interception to get information on performance of weapons under test;
on-site inspection by experts visiting bases, launch sites, storage facilities, and test sites in another country;
radar tracking of missiles in flight;
seismic monitoring of underground tests, in the same way as with earthquakes. This is not accurate and on-site inspection is needed. Tests in the atmosphere, space, or the oceans are forbidden, and the ban is accepted because explosions are not only dangerous to all but immediately detectable.
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