Jan 4 1999 [C] A pistol containing ammunition with cyanide-laced bullets was reportedly found near the cells
of commanders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), being held in the jail in Itagui, Colombia.
Feb 1999 [M] An unclassified CIA report
to Congress on global proliferation during the first half of 1998 reports that
"Chinese and North Korean entities continued to provide assistance to Pakistan's
ballistic missile
program during the first half of 1998. Such assistance is critical for
Islamabad's efforts to produce ballistic missiles....China's involvement with
Pakistan will continue to be monitored closely."
Feb 9 1999 [N] The United States conducts a sub-critical
test at the Nevada Test Site.
Feb 20 1999 [O, N, M] India and Pakistan sign
the Lahore Declarations. The agreements are designed to reduce tensions between
the two countries that increased after each country conducted nuclear tests
in May 1998. The Declarations include advance warning of ballistic
missile tests and a pledge to reduce the risks of accidental or unauthorized
nuclear weapons launch.
March 29 1999 [M] The U.S. Army successfully conducts
the ninth THAAD flight
test at White Sands Missile Range. This test is the ninth in a planned series
of THAAD Program Definition and Risk Reduction flight tests to verify the THAAD
prototype design and performance of its system elements.
March 31 1999 [N] In response to the NATO bombing
of Yugoslavia, the Chariman of Russia's General Staff Anatoly Kvashin says that
Moscow no longer rules out launching a preemptive nuclear strike against a potential
enemy.
April 11 1999 [M] India successfully test-fires
an intermediate-range ballistic
missile, an Agni-2, from a rail platform located at a new test site on Wheeler
Island in the Bay of Bengal. The missile flies for 11 minutes and splashes down
in the Bay of Bengal.
April 13 1999 [N] The Japanese weekly magazine AERA
quotes North Korean defector Kim Duck-hong as saying that North Korea has already
developed and stockpiled "nuclear missiles." Kim, a former high-ranking North
Korean official, says in the interview, "I heard that North Korea had been importing
precise components from Japan and uranium from Pakistan for the development
of nuclear weapons."
April 14 1999 [M] Pakistan responds to the April
11 Indian missile launch with the launch of its Ghauri 2 medium-range ballistic
missile. The missile is fired from the Tilla Firing Range at Malute in Jhelum
District, 40 miles east of Islamabad, and flies 12 minutes to the impact point
near the coastal town of Jewani in Baluchistan.
April 15 1999 [M] Pakistan successfully test-fires
its Shaheen short-range
ballistic missile.
The test is conducted at the Sonmiani naval base, about 30 miles from the southern
port city of Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast.
May 7 1999 [O] NATO mistakenly fires three missiles
at the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. NATO and CIA officials used
outdated maps when developing the target list. Accordingly, NATO officials believed
that they were firing on the Yugoslav Federal Directorate of Supply and Procurement.
Three Chinese journalists died and 20 Chinese nationals were injured.
May 17 1999 [B] The European Union issues a common
position on the
BWC Protocol that commits the
15 Member States as well as the 14 Associated States to "actively promote decisive
progress in the work of the Ad Hoc Group, with a view to concluding the substantive
negotiations by the end of 1998, so that the Protocol can be adopted by a Special
Conference of States Parties early in 1999."
June 1999 [N] The United States and the Russian
Federation agree to engage in discussions on START III negotiations.
June 3 1999 [M] Russia successfully test-fires
its ICBM Topol-M, the
seventh such test since December 1994. The launch is unprecedented because it
simulates maneuvers to avoid antimissile defense systems.
June 10 1999 [M] The U.S. Army's THAAD
weapon system successfully intercepts a target missile over the White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico.
July 19 1999 [M] An upgraded Patriot Anti-Cruise
Missile intercepts an MQM-107 drone simulating a cruise missile flying at low
altitude at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The military considers
the test a success and calls it a historical first. The new missile is part
of the Patriot Advanced Capability-2, an updated version of the Patriot TMD
system.
July 23 1999 [M] Pakistan tests the engine for
the new Ghauri 3 intermediate range ballistic
missile.
July 25 1999 [N] The Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-Proliferation
and Disarmament issues its report Facing Nuclear Dangers: An Action Plan
for the 21st Century. The report warns that a renewed sense of
commitment to both nonproliferation and disarmament is urgently needed. The
report states that the nuclear
weapon states that are party to the NPT
should uphold their Article VI commitments (to move towards nuclear disarmament).
The report also recommends that phased reductions should be adopted to eliminate
nuclear weapons and that states should bring the CTBT
into force and introduce greater transparency measures to ensure that arsenal
reductions are irreversible.
July 27 1999 [N] The first of three Dolphin-class
submarines, built in Germany for the Israeli Navy, arrive in Israel. According
to defense experts, the submarine could be outfitted to give Israel a second-strike
nuclear capability (the ability to sustain a nuclear strike and fire back).
Aug 1999 [N] U.S.-Russian START III discussions
begin.
Aug 2 1999 [M] China test-fires its Dongfeng-31
ICBM within Chinese
territory. The missile is reportedly launched from the Wuzhai Missile and Space
Center in northern central China, about 250 miles southwest of Beijing, to a
remote interior area, possibly near the Lop Nor nuclear test site in northwestern
China. The Dongfeng-31 is a three-stage, solid fuel, road mobile missile system
with a range of 8,000 kilometers and the ability to carry a nuclear warhead
weighing up to 1,500 pounds. Deployment is expected to begin within three years.
Aug 2 1999 [M] The U.S. Army's THAAD
weapon system successfully intercepts a target missile over the White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico.
Aug 17 1999 [N] An advisory panel to the Indian
National Security Council releases a draft nuclear doctrine, which states that
India should develop the capability to deliver nuclear weapons by aircraft,
submarines, and land-based ballistic missiles.
Sept 3 1999 [M] Russia conducts its eighth
successful test-launch of the Topol-M silo-based missile.
Sept 9 1999 [M] In an important assessment of
the ballistic missile threat to the United States, the CIA projects that "during
the next 15 years, the United States most likely will face ICBM
threats from Russia, China, and North Korea, probably from Iran, and possibly
from Iraq."
Sept 24 1999 [M] After negotiations with U.S.
diplomats, North Korea announces that it will cease its missile-testing program.
The United States promises to lift its trade embargo against North Korea.
Sept 27 1999 [N] The United States conducts its
seventh sub-critical
nuclear weapons test underground at the Nevada Test Site.
Sept 30 1999 [M] India successfully test-fires
its multi-target surface-to-air missile (SAM) Akash at Chandipur-on-Sea in Balasore,
India. The Akash SAM, which has a range of 25 km, compares to the U.S. Patriot
missile.
Oct 1999 [O] Russia and China introduce a UN
resolution demanding strict compliance with the ABM
Treaty.
Oct 1 1999 [M] Russia successfully test-fires
the mobile RS-12M Topol from the Plesetsk testing ground. At the time of the
test, the missile has been in service for 15 years, five years longer than its
guaranteed service life.
Oct 2 1999 [M] The United States successfully
conducts its first missile intercept test for the development of a U.S. National
Missile Defense (NMD) program. The kill-vehicle succeeds in destroying the
dummy warhead more than 100 miles out in space. Critics contend that a decoy
balloon near the warhead may have inadvertently helped the missile find its
target. The test is the first in a series of 19 intercept tests that are scheduled
to take place before June 2000.
Oct 5 1999 [M] India again test-fires its medium-range
surface-to-air missile, Akash, from the interim test range at Chandipur-on-Sea.
Oct 6-8 1999 [N] The Conference on Facilitating
Entry into Force of the CTBT is held
in Vienna. At the conference, 92 states parties
and
ratified
the treaty to continue to apply international pressure to those nations that
have not yet ratified it. The treaty will not enter into force until all 44
nuclear-capable nations ratify it.
Oct 13 1999 [N] The U.S. Senate fails to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT).
Oct 17 1999 [B] Russian soldiers discover, on the bodies of Chechens killed during fighting in Dagestan, plans to
use biological
weapons (BW).
Oct 18 1999 [N] The U.S. Senate fails to ratify
the CTBT by a vote of 51 to 48. The
outcome draws widespread international condemnation.
Oct 20 1999 [M] Russia successfully tests
an RS-18 ICBM from
the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The missile has been in service for approximately
25 years, and the test is to ensure that the RS-18 could perform in spite of
its advanced age.
Nov 1 1999 [M] An Israeli Arrow II missile successfully
strikes a target missile over the Mediterranean and is officially declared capable
of intercepting and destroying incoming tactical ballistic missiles.
Nov 3 1999 [M] Russia test-fires one of its short-range
anti-missile rockets, breaking a six-year moratorium. The test comes amid mounting
U.S.-Russian differences over the ABM Treaty.
Nov 9 1999 [M] The Pentagon announces it will
sell 14 Patriot air defense systems to South Korea.
Nov 9 1999 [N] United States conducts the eighth
sub-critical test
at the Nevada Test Site.
Nov 10 1999 [N] Russia's Foreign Ministry threatens
to scrap talks on nuclear arms reduction if the United States does not uphold
the ABM Treaty.
Nov 13 1999 [M] A source associated with India's
Defense Research & Development Organization indicates that development of
India's 500 kilometer Surya missile is at an advanced stage.
Nov 17 1999 [N] Russian President Boris Yeltsin
signs a bill approving the CTBT and
sends it to the Duma for ratification.
Nov 17 1999 [M] Russia test-fires two nuclear-capable
ballistic missiles
from a submarine in the Barents Sea in the Arctic north.
Nov 17 1999 [N] The CIA declassifies new documents
showing that the Soviet Union was wary of escalating the arms race for economic
reasons, although it had the capability to strike all U.S. missile silos with
two warheads each near the end of the Cold War.
Dec 1999 [N] This is the warhead reduction deadline
under START I: the United States
ahead of schedule.
Dec 8 1999 [M] Russia conducts a successful
test launch of a Topol-M ICBM
at the Plesetsk test site.
Dec 14 1999 [M] Russia successfully launches
a mobile, single-warhead Topol-M missile at the Plesetsk test site.
Dec 17 1999 [O] UN Security Council adopts Resolution
1284, creating the United
Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in
order to renew weapons inspections in Iraq. France, China, the Russian Federation,
and Malaysia abstain.
Dec 31 1999 [O] Russian President Boris Yeltsin
resigns and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes Acting President.
Late 1999 [C] An FBI affidavit in January 2000 asserts that millennium-night attacks planned by
Al-Qaida against Westerners at holy sites in Jordan may have included plans to use unconventional gas bombs.
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