This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here.

Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.

5 December 1980
Israel, South Africa, and Taiwan are reported to have reached an agreement to collaborate in the joint production of strategic cruise missiles and small unmanned jets capable of delivering nuclear warheads. US Intelligence sources are aware of the nuclear collaboration and report that South Africa and Taiwan are attempting to keep their cruise missile plans secret. Information on the joint collaboration remains restricted to the national security community.
—"3 Nations to Begin Cruise Missile Project," Washington Post, 5 December 1980.

1982
South Africa and Israel cooperate on development of the Skorpioen ship-to-ship-missile, based on the Israeli Gabriel Mk 2 missile. The Mk 2 is reportedly 3.42m long with a airframe diameter of 0.34m and a weight of 522kg at launch. Before launch the missile guidance system is programmed with the target data obtained from its search radar. It is then fired and guided by "two gyro autopilots" and assumes an initial cruise altitude of about 100m. At a range of 7.5km from the launcher the onboard autopilot commands the missile to descend to 20m altitude using a radio altimeter to maintain height. At a predetermined distance from the target, the semi-active radar is switched on, the target is acquired, and the missile descends to one of its three possible preset attack altitudes for the final approach. The actual set altitude varies between 1 and 3m and depends upon the sea state encountered at the time. Propulsion is by a solid-propellant boost and sustainer motor. The effective missile range is reported to be 35km, with a cruise speed of mach 0.7. The Semi-Armor-Piercing (SAP) warhead weighs 180kg and contains around 75kg of conventional high explosive (HE).
—Signe Landgren, Embargo Disimplemented: South Africa's Military Industry (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), pp. 108-109; Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems 36, "Offensive Weapons, Israel, Gabriel," 24 July 2001, <online.janes.com>.

1983
The Israeli Space Agency is founded in Tel Aviv.
—Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, "Israeli Missile Milestones," Risk Report (6) 2, November/December 2000, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/>.

1986
Israel conducts the first test-firings of the Jericho-II missile, which, at this time, is believed to be a longer-range and more accurate version of the Jericho-I. [Note: It is unclear whether the designs are actually related.]
—Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems 36, "Offensive Weapons, Israel, Jericho I/2 (YA-1/YA-3)," 24 July 2001, <http://online.janes.com>.

Late 1980s
South Africa begins cooperation with Israel on several missile projects, including a South African version of Israel's Jericho-II ballistic missile.
—Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 34, "Offensive Weapons, Israel: Jericho I/2 (YA1/YA3)," 19 September 2000, <http://online.janes.com>.

May 1986
Israel and the United States sign a memorandum of understanding on joint development of the Arrow anti-tactical ballistic missile (ATBM) system.
—Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, "Israeli Missile Milestones," Risk Report (6) 2, November/December 2000, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/>.

May 1987
Israel tests an improved version of the Jericho-II missile. During a test-flight, the missile travels more than 800km. It is the first test of the extended range Jericho to be monitored by US intelligence officials.
—"Israel: How Far Can Its Missiles Fly?" Risk Report (1) 5, June 1995, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/>; "Israel Reported to Test New, Longer-Range Missile," New York Times, 22 July 1987, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.

September 1988
Israel conducts a second flight-test of the modified Jericho-II missile.
—"Israel: How Far Can Its Missiles Fly?" Risk Report (1) 5, June 1995, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/>.

19 September 1988
Israel's first launch of the Shavit space launch vehicle (SLV) places the Ofeq-1 satellite into orbit. Using the orbital parameters of the satellite launched, the US Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory concludes that the Shavit SLV could be reconfigured as a ballistic missile capable of delivering a 500kg warhead to a range of 7,500km. Shavit is a three-stage, solid-propellant launcher designed to carry 250kg payloads into low earth orbit. It has an overall length of 18m, a body diameter of 1.35m, and is reported to weigh 23,000kg at launch. Stage 1 is 6.5m long, and has a body diameter of 1.35m. It contains a TAAS Israel Industries Ltd. motor with an unspecified amount of HTPB solid propellant with a reported burn time of one minute. Attitude control is maintained by four air vanes and four jet vanes, which are jettisoned after the vertical launch phase. Stage 2 is 5.3 meters long and has a body diameter of 1.35 meters. Its motor is similar to stage 1, but with expansion ratio increased for altitude performance. The stage 2 motor also has a burn time of one minute. Attitude control in pitch and yaw is maintained by four liquid-injection thrust vector control (LITVC) modules. Stage 3 is 2.1m long with a body diameter of 1.3m and weighs 2,000kg, of which 1,800kg is propellant. The apogee kick motor is a RAFAEL AUS-51 "Marble" that has a burn time of 92 seconds. [Note: AUS stands for Advanced Upper Stage.] Attitude control is by spin stabilization accomplished with RAFAEL ST-200N thrusters. Israel Military Industries produces the first and second stage motors, while RAFAEL is responsible for the third stage motor. The demonstrated payload capacity is 160kg into an elliptical orbit of 207km by 1,587km with a highly retrograde inclination of 143.2 degrees.
—UN Department of Disarmament Affairs, South Africa's Nuclear Tipped Ballistic Missile Capability (New York: United Nations, 1991), p. 22; Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 33, "Offensive Weapons (Unclassified Projects) – Satellite Launch Vehicles, Israel," 14 February 2000, <http://online.janes.com>; Seth W. Carus, "Israeli Ballistic Missile Developments," Testimony before the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, 15 July 1998, <http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/missile/rumfeld/pt2_carus2.htm>; Leonard Spector with Jacqueline Smith, Nuclear Ambitions (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1990), p. 162; Federation of American Scientists, "Israel and Space Transportation, Shavit," [undated], <http://www.fas.org/spp/guide/israel/launch/index.html>.

1989
The Israeli Jericho-II enters service. The Jericho-II reportedly has two solid-propellant stages, a length of 14m, a body diameter of 1.56m, and a launch weight of 26,000kg. The motors are manufactured by Israel Military Industries, who make the solid-propellant motors for the Shavit SLV and later the Arrow ABM system. The first stage motor burns for 52 seconds and the second stage for 85 seconds, with boost burn completed at around 105km altitude. An alternative launch weight of 21,935kg is also been reported, with a first stage weight of 10,970kg and a second stage weight of 9,965kg. The payload capability is reported to be around 1,000kg, permitting either nuclear or conventional high explosive (HE) warheads. The warhead separates after the boost phase of flight. The missile has inertial guidance and the re-entry vehicle may also have a radar image correlation system for terminal guidance. Jericho-II is reported to be located in underground caves and silos, but it is believed that the missile is also road mobile with a wheeled transporter-erector launcher (TEL), or launch capability from railroad flat trucks. The missile is reported to have a maximum range of 1,500km, but could have a range of around 3,500km with a 1,000kg payload. The TEL vehicle used to launch Jericho-II is believed to be 16m long and supported by three vehicles for command and communications, site survey, and weather. [Note: The SRBM South Africa tests in July 1989 is widely believed to be a version of the Jericho-II.]
—Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems 36, "Offensive Weapons, Israel, Jericho I/2 (YA-1/YA-3)," 24 July 2001, <http://online.janes.com>.

5 July 1989
South Africa's Armscor announces that it has successfully tested a booster rocket from the Overberg test range outside Cape Town. Although South African sources describe the launch as a booster rocket, outside analysts suggest that it may have been a test flight of an IRBM. A US Defense Intelligence Agency Special Assessment calls the missile a "probable SRBM." US intelligence sources report that the rocket plume of the missile bears a striking resemblance to Israel's Jericho missile. The DIA report notes that if Israel and South Africa are collaborating, a high-level if not senior-level Israeli delegation was probably present for the test. The missile flies 1,620 kilometers southeast toward Prince Edward Island.
—"South African Missile Test," Jane's Defence Weekly, 15 July 1989, p. 59; Michael R. Gordon, "U.S. Sees Israeli Help in Pretoria's Missile Work," New York Times, 27 October 1989, <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>; US Defense Intelligence Agency, "Special Assessment, South Africa: Missile Activity," 5 July 1989, declassified and partially released, in South Africa and the United States: The Declassified History, ed. Kenneth Mokoena (New York: New Press, 1993), pp. 167-168; William E. Burrows and Robert Windrem, Critical Mass: The Dangerous for Superpowers in a Fragmented World, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), pp. 446-448; John Pike, "Overberg Test Range OTB Arniston South Africa," 29 May 2000, <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/rasa/facility/overberg.htm>.

14 September 1989
Israel conducts a third test of the improved Jericho-II. The missile flies nearly 1,300km, putting southern Russia and Iran in range.
—"Israel: How Far Can Its Missiles Fly?" Risk Report (1) 5, June 1995, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, <http://www.wisconsinproject.org/>.

	Updated September 2005