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U.S. Nuclear Weapons on the territories of 6 NATO States.

1. Arsenal Size:
   150-240 U.S. non-strategic gravity B-61 warheads.
   Six U.S. nuclear weapon facilities in five NATO countries: Belgium (10-20), Germany (10-20), Italy (70-90), Netherlands (10-20), and Turkey (50-90).

   Several sources indicate that estimated 130 U.S. nuclear weapons at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany appear to have been removed in July 2007.

   Several sources indicated in June 2008 that the United States had withdrawn nuclear weapons from the RAF Lankenheath air base where it is generally believed that 110 U.S. nuclear weapons were deployed.

2. Weapons System:
   • Non-strategic gravity bombs (B61-3, B61-4, and B61-10)
   • Delivery system: U.S. F-15 E, F16C/D, Belgian, Dutch, and Turkish F-16s, and German and Italian PA-200 Tornado.
3. Destructive Force:
   B-61-3: maximum yield of 170 Kt.
   B-61-4: 45 Kt.
   B-61-10: 80 Kt.
4. Warheads Dismantled:
   In 1971, U.S. nuclear warheads in Europe peaked at approximately 7,300. Since then, more than 7,000 warheads have been removed.
   

5. Nuclear Weapons Related Policies:
   1999 NATO Strategic Concept confirms commitment to deploying nuclear weapons in Europe to maintain the "minimum level sufficient to preserve peace and stability."
   2005 NATO reaffirmed continued deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe.

   At the most recent Nuclear Planning Group meeting on June 15, 2007, NATO reaffirmed the importance of deploying U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe.

   Treaty Commitments:
   The six NATO countries which share U.S. nuclear weapons are all parties to the NPT, PTBT, and CTBT.

Sources:

"US Nuclear Weapons in Europe," Natural Resource Defense Council, Feb. 2005, http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/euro/contents.asp

"No More Nuclear Weapons at Ramstein," Spiege Online, July 10, 2007, http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,493540,00.html "United States Removes Nuclear Weapons from German Base, Documents Indicates," Strategic Security Blog, Federation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2007/07/united_states_removes_nuclear.php

Hans Kristensen, "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Withdrawn From the United Kingdom," FAS Strategic Security Blog, http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2008/06/us-nuclear-weapons-withdrawn-from-the-united-kingdom.php

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.

 

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