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Discussions Ongoing to Expand U.S. Nuclear Presence in Europe

FlyMarshall NewsroomBy No Comments6 Mins Read

Talks between the U.S. and NATO allies – particularly Poland and the Baltic states – regarding the reinforcement of the U.S. Air Force’s existing nuclear weapons capability in Europe are taking place, according to the Financial Times. 

Officials with knowledge of the talks told the Financial Times that the U.S. is, at present, open to an expansion of existing arrangements which see six European nations hosting U.S.-owned B61 nuclear bombs under NATO’s nuclear sharing program.

Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the UK are the current group of nations playing host to these weapons, which would be delivered under a wider NATO war plan either by U.S. Air Force aircraft or, in some cases, by specially certified host nation units. The UK was the most recent nation to re-join this club, with nuclear weapons now almost certainly being held at RAF Lakenheath once again after having previously been withdrawn in 2008.

Now, with Russia’s war against Ukraine raging on, and bordering NATO nations living under the constant fear of ‘wayward’ munitions or even direct threats from Vladimir Putin, it is claimed that Poland and the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, are interested in joining this list. For Poland specifically, as an operator of both the F-16 and the F-35, there would be scope for them to join the ranks of NATO nations with units cleared to deliver these U.S.-owned weapons. 

For all of these nations, joining the nuclear sharing initiative would notably mark the first known time that U.S. nuclear weapons have been deployed to former Warsaw Pact states. With the B61 family having been in service since the 1960s, it could in fact be possible that B61s end up being deployed at locations that previous iterations of the same bomb were intended to destroy. 

It should be noted, however, that even if these talks do produce an agreement to expand the nuclear sharing program, it will likely be many years before any such deployment of nuclear weapons takes place. Even for RAF Lakenheath, which was already equipped with the specialised Weapons Storage and Security System (WS3) vaults for storing the bombs, it took several years between initial discussions of returning the capability and the first apparent deliveries of nuclear weapons. 

File photo of a Weapons Storage and Security System (WS3) vault holding a B61 nuclear bomb insid a Protective Aircraft Shelter. (Image Credit: U.S. Air Force)

For nations bordering Russia, these vaults – which, as well as being hardened against traditional attacks, feature an array of highly classified security measures to counter attempts of sabotage or theft – would be of particular importance and would first need to be constructed before any live munitions could be shipped across. 

Poland, along with a number of other NATO nations – including current nuclear sharing participants – have already signed up to France’s proposals for an expanded French nuclear force which could see nuclear-armed Rafale jets forward deployed to other countries in the future. These countries would also be invited to take part in France’s regular nuclear exercises. 

Balancing Act

Although under the current Trump administration the U.S. has indicated a desire to pivot its forces away from Europe, deploying additional nuclear weapons may be seen as a way to balance the removal of conventional forces. Forward deployed nuclear weapons would require a comparatively small footprint in terms of personnel compared to some types of conventional force deployments, which might allow the Pentagon to reorganise its structures while keeping European nations on side. 

Plans for U.S. troop withdrawals are expected to be presented to NATO allies in June. Previous announcements have already included the potential reduction of U.S. personnel in Germany by as many as 5,000 – 1 in 7 of all U.S. personnel stationed in the country.

A planned rotation of 4,000 U.S. personnel to Poland was also withdrawn at short notice, causing much concern among Polish officials and drawing criticism from members of the U.S. Congress. This decision was later reversed, with a new deployment of 5,000 troops announced directly by President Trump. The concern over the unpredictable nature of U.S. policy, though, remains strong. 

Consequences of these abrupt changes in policy are already coming to light, with the potential of impacting U.S. plans outside of the European theatre. When the U.S. Government neglected to approve a visa waiver program for Bulgarian citizens, Prime Minister Rumen Radev declared that U.S. forces deployed to the country – which includes aircraft at Sofia International Airport supporting Operation Epic Fury – could be ordered to leave by the end of June. 

With Europe an important staging post for these Middle Eastern operations, hosting troops, aircraft, and ships as they pass through to the region, reluctance to accommodate these visits could prove detrimental to the U.S. military’s force projection strategies. We have already seen the U.S. Air Force’s giant airlift fleet stretched as it supports large scale military buildups in incredibly short periods of time – there is little room for maneuver if so many locations for stopovers and refueling support were suddenly lost.


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