This primer explains the role US-owned B61 tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) play in Europe as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangements. It considers these weapons in terms of their economic, political, diplomatic and security significance, including internal NATO dynamics, US-Russia relations and international arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament regimes.
TNWs have been deployed by the US in Europe since the mid-1950s in an arrangement known as nuclear sharing. Following the end of the Cold War the number of these weapons fell dramatically but they were not completely withdrawn. Maintaining NATO nuclear sharing has been seen as a way of maintaining alliance unity as these weapons provide an important political link between Washington and European capitals. Since 2014, NATO-Russia tensions have provided the alliance with an opportunity to highlight the supposed role that nuclear deterrence plays in keeping the peace. Concurrently, the revived salience of TNWs (particularly in US nuclear doctrine), US plans to spend $10 billion modernising its TNW arsenal, the huge cost of procuring next generation nuclear-capable strike aircraft (particularly for Germany and Belgium), and the fragility of Turkey-NATO relations, have all raised questions about the costs and benefits of NATO nuclear sharing.
What is NATO nuclear sharing?
NATO nuclear weapons sharing began during the early years of the Cold War when the US began basing so-called ‘tactical’ (relatively low yield, short range) nuclear weapons in Europe under the framework of collective defence. The justification given for the deployment of these weapons was the need to deter an attack on European NATO allies by the Soviet Union’s conventional military forces. It was argued that Moscow’s superior numbers of troops, tanks and artillery threatened Europe and had to be countered.
The US spread its nuclear weapons strategically across several bases in Europe, supposedly providing the alliance with a ‘flexible response’, meaning the ability to control escalation during a conflict, with the first use of nuclear weapons not ruled out. The nuclear sharing arrangement has a number of significant political implications. For example, alliance members have a degree of influence over nuclear strategy and responsibility for nuclear detonation. Furthermore, transatlantic solidarity was built regarding European defence— known as ‘burden sharing’—which included NATO members contributing to the financial cost of the weapons. In addition, Washington reinforced political and security links with European NATO governments and, some argue, regional nuclear proliferation was prevented as potential nuclear powers had much reduced incentives to develop nuclear capabilities independently.
In terms of today’s arrangements, whilst the US retains ownership of and control over use of the weapons, formal policy-making on nuclear sharing requires consensus between NATO’s 28 member states. On a practical level, 15 nations are involved in NATO nuclear sharing and 27 nations (i.e. all alliance members except France) participate in the Nuclear Planning Group, which discusses operational, deployment and management issues for NATO-assigned nuclear weapons.
Which countries are involved in nuclear sharing?
NATO is commonly referred to as a nuclear alliance, yet the majority of its members are non-nuclear weapon states and it does not, on an institutional level, possess any nuclear weapons. The three nuclear weapon states in NATO are France, the UK and US. The nuclear arsenal of each contributes to NATO’s overall deterrence structure, although French nuclear weapons are not assigned to NATO.
The US is the only nuclear weapon state in the world deploying nuclear arms on foreign soil, maintaining an estimated 520 B61 nuclear bombs, some 180 of which are assigned to NATO, being hosted in six bases in Belgium (an estimated 20 TNWs), Germany (20), Italy (70), the Netherlands (20) and Turkey (50). One of these bases, Incirlik in Turkey, does not maintain nuclear capable aircraft whilst another, Aviano in Italy, hosts both US and Italian aircraft. The other bases: Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Büchel in Germany, Ghedi Torre in Italy and Volkel in the Netherlands use non-US, local aircraft at present. These are F-16 fighter-bombers (Belgium, Netherlands) and Tornado strike aircraft (Germany, Italy).
In addition to those European nations that contribute to NATO’s nuclear mission as hosts, there is the Support of Nuclear Operations With Conventional Air Tactics (SNOWCAT) mission. This exists to allow other alliance members to bolster nuclear operations on an informal basis by providing conventional military assets. Participating countries have included: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland and Romania. Their support tasks include air control missions, reconnaissance, radar and communications support and refuelling. ……….
About the Author
Tim Street is an Associate Fellow of the Oxford Research Group’s Sustainable Security Programme, specializing in nuclear security and disarmament issues.
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NATO Nuclear Sharing, Centre for Security Studies, The CSS Blog Network, By Tim Street , 3 Aug 18
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