Poland wants to host US B61 nuclear bombs in response to Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus
Poland has once again reiterated its desire to deploy American nuclear weapons. Last year, President Andrzej Duda spoke about this and now Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has made a similar statement.
Here's What We Know
Poland wants to join the NATO nuclear weapons exchange programme. This is a direct response to Russia sending part of its nuclear arsenal to Belarus. Mateusz Morawiecki stressed that the final decision would depend on the American and NATO partners.
Premier @morawieckim na moje pytanie o działania ???????? wobec rozmieszczenie na Białorusi ???????? taktycznej broni jądrowej: Zwracamy się do całego NATO o wzięcie udziału w programie #nuclearsharing.
- Karol Darmoros ???????? (@KarolDarmoros) June 30, 2023
Ostateczna decyzja zależy od partnerów z USA, deklarujemy naszą wolę w tym zakresie pic.twitter.com/Glc8NOYgQP
Last summer, Russia agreed to station part of its sod arsenal on the territory of Belarus. Self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier last month that a "substantial part" of the nuclear munitions had already been delivered.
Earlier it was said that Russia would deploy bombs and Iskander-M ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead in Belarus. It was additionally noted that Belarusian fighter jets have been re-equipped and can now carry nuclear weapons.
Currently, the NATO nuclear sharing agreement concerns US B61-series bombs. It is assumed that in the event of a crisis they will be loaded onto planes belonging to NATO member states.
Details of the programme are classified. Earlier 150-200 American B61 bombs were placed in Europe. According to the latest estimates, their number has been reduced to about a hundred units. It is known that American nuclear weapons in Europe are dispersed across six military bases in five countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands.
The carriers of the American nuclear bombs are dual-purpose F-16 Fighting Falcon and PA-200 Tornado fighters. At the same time, Turkey has no aircraft that can drop B61s. In 2016, rumours emerged that the bombs had been transferred from Turkey to Romania. NATO denies this information.
B61-3 and/or B-61-4 bombs are deployed in European countries. They are classified as tactical nuclear weapons. The B61-3 has a yield of 0.3 to 170 kilotons and the B61-4 has a yield of up to 50 kilotons. The US military is now trying to replace the old bombs with newer versions of the B61-12.
Source: The War Zone
