During the Cold War, the United States placed tactical nuclear bombs (B61) in five NATO countries in Europe.

About 100 are stored at six military bases in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, according to the organization Federation of American Scientists.

In December 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:

"We have no plans to place nuclear weapons in countries other than those we already have, as part of our deterrence."

US F-35A fighter jet is certified to carry new B61-12 tactical nuclear bomb to be deployed in Europe.

Photo: US Air Force/Zachary Rufus

The Kremlin's nuclear rhetoric

But since the Kremlin has issued nuclear threats several times during the war in Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday that the country has opened a dialogue with the United States about gaining access to its nuclear weapons, Bloomberg, the Washington Examiner and The Guardian report.

In that case, it would mean that Polish warplanes can carry American nuclear weapons and/or that they are also stored in Poland.

- His statement shows that he (Duda) is keen for Poland to be included in the system of nuclear weapons sharing.

A couple of years ago we saw a similar statement from the then foreign minister.

But it didn't lead to anything, says Hans Kristensen, director of nuclear weapons research at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

The US will probably not accommodate Poland's wishes, says Kristensen.

- On the contrary, NATO is now in the process of strengthening the defense of existing nuclear weapons bases in Europe against Russian conventional robots.

So I cannot for the life of me see why they would agree to deploy nuclear weapons closer to Russia.

Nuclear umbrella

He assesses that the US will instead emphasize that Poland is already covered by NATO's nuclear umbrella - which means protection for US bombers and other platforms that can carry nuclear weapons.

- Then it's more likely that the US would say, "Here's what we're doing to protect you: We have all these conventional forces in the area, and just recently we've had four B-52 bombers fly around Europe, and these can launch nuclear weapons to defend you.”

American B-52 Stratofortress nuclear-capable aircraft can carry bombs, mines and cruise missiles.

Photo: US Air Force/Stephanie Serrano

Upgrade

The US is currently phasing out the older B61 nuclear bombs in Europe and upgrading to a new version (B61-12).

They are more accurate and can be steered towards targets with the help of fins.

The first are expected to be deployed in 2023 or 2024.