The US is discussing whether to deploy nuclear weapons to additional European NATO member states to assure allies of its commitment to keeping them under its nuclear umbrella, The Financial Times has reported.
Currently, the US has B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs deployed in at least five NATO countries under NATO’s nuclear-sharing program: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
The UK, which has its own nuclear arsenal, is also believed to now be hosting US nuclear weapons again after it announced last year that it was acquiring US-made F-35A fighter jets to join NATO’s dual-capable aircraft (DCA) nuclear mission. The US was also suspected of delivering a shipment of B61 nuclear bombs to the country around the same time, though the nuclear deployment hasn’t been confirmed by Washington or London.
The FT report said that the US is considering expanding the number of NATO countries that can join the DCA program and host US nuclear bombs, and countries that are interested include Poland and the Baltic states, which would put US nuclear weapons closer to Russia. Finland, which has a massive border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023, has also taken steps that would allow it to potentially host US nuclear weapons.
Details of NATO nuclear sharing have always been murky, but the general arrangement is believed to be that the US maintains and controls the weapons while host countries maintain aircraft that can deliver the weapons.
Describing the program, the FT report said: “US nuclear weapons deployed to European states are stored and guarded by US troops. Allied nations’ assigned air groups, using F-35, F-15 and Tornado jets, are trained to participate in exercises and missions to demonstrate force posture, and ultimately deploy the bombs when authorized by the US.”
The news of the US potentially deploying more nukes in Europe comes after the US reportedly told its NATO allies that it would scale back the number of aircraft and warships that would be available to the alliance members during a time of crisis.
