Timeline: Nuclear Treaties & Agreements

1963 Limited Test Ban TreatyAn agreement between the US, USSR, and UK which prevented nuclear testing above ground, underwater, and in outer space. But it does allow testing to occur underground as long as the radioactive fallout is not widespread. A total of 116 countries have signed this, and China, who had not signed, did testing in 1992 that violated the treaty's guidelines.

1967 Outer Space TreatyAn agreement between the US, USSR, and UK which banned placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on the moon, or in any other location in outerspace for military purposes. Eighty-six nations have signed this agreement.

1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation TreatyAn agreement among the US, USSR, UK, and 133 non nuclear weapon countries which prevented the spread of nuclear weapons. It made sure that non-nuclear-weapon countries did not start weapons production. This treaty was made permanent in May 1995.

1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I ABM treatyA Treaty between the US and USSR which limited the anti-ballistic missle systems to a maximum of 100 ABMS launchers and missles. It also prohibits the testing and application of any of these components

1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I Interim AgreementAn agreement between the US and USSR keeping the number of strategic ballistic missles at the same level for 5 years. The construction of more ICBM silos was restricted, but SLBM launcher amounts could increase if there was a reduction in ICBM or SLBM.

1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II
An agreement between the US and USSR which put a limit on offensive weapons systems and strategic systems. A 2,400 limit was put on amount of strategic nuclear weapon delivery vehicles, and a max of 1,320 was put on MIRVed ballistic missles. The U.S. voided the treaty in 1986.

1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) A treaty between the US and USSR which bans all intermediate range missiles (IRMs), short range missles, and all associated facilities and equipment. On-site inspection is used to make sure that both countries are following the treaty.

1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
An agreement between the US and USSR which limited the number of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles to 1,600. It also limited the number of warheads per country to 6,000; this treaty reduced the U.S.'s and Soviet's warheads by 15% and 25% respectively.

1993 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II
This treaty is an agreement between the US and Russia which will further reduce the number of warheads by 5,000. Both sides must reduce their warheads by this amount by December 4, 2001.

1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
An agreement signed by the US, CIS, UK, and 90 other countries which banned all nuclear tests above and below the Earth's surface. A worldwide monitoring system including 170 seismic stations checked for any signs of nuclear explosion. India was the only nuclear country that didn't sign; it has conducted five nuclear tests recently.