Post #4016118
2026-07-22 15:58 UTC
@ignaloidas@not.acu.lt @petrillic@hachyderm.io Yes, Vela was plausibly a south africa / israeli joint test.
But we don't know if they ever got a fully working system and geopolitically they aren't in anywhere near the same situation as Israel surrounded by countries they are constantly getting in wars with for one reason or other. So if they never deployed the capability at scale and don't have a major strategic need for a nuclear deterrent it makes sense they'd probably have quietly killed the program to cut costs.
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@ignaloidas@not.acu.lt 2026-07-22 16:02
@azonenberg@ioc.exchange @petrillic@hachyderm.io IANA overlooked and confirmed the dismantling of 6 complete and 1 incomplete device. We can't be sure whether they would've worked, but stuff existed and was dismantled. The strategy supposedly was "we have them so that others don't dare, we don't plan to use them at all"