Nuclear sharing is a concept in NATO's policy of nuclear deterrence, which involves member countries without nuclear weapons of their own in the planning for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO, and in particular provides for the armed forces of these countries to be involved in delivering these weapons in the event of their use. The North Atlantic Treaty This article refers to deterrent theories of punishment For the legal theory of justice see Deterrence (legal. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. For the military meaning see Armed forces. For the Soviet sports society see Armed Forces (sports society Armed Forces
As part of nuclear sharing, the participating countries carry out consultations and take common decisions on nuclear weapons policy, maintain technical equipment required for the use of nuclear weapons (including warplanes capable of delivering them), and store nuclear weapons on their territory.
Of the three nuclear powers in NATO only the United States has provided weapons for nuclear sharing. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Currently the receiving countries are Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Though Germany is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world since World War II it has generally refrained from using this technology to outfit Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Although the Netherlands do not have weapons of mass destruction made by itself the country participates in the NATO Nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Canada received weapons until 1984, and Greece until 2001. The Government of Canada does not possess any Weapons of mass destruction and has signed treaties repudiating possession of them Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The United Kingdom also received U. The United Kingdom was the third state to test an independently developed Nuclear weapon in October 1952 S. tactical nuclear weapons such as nuclear artillery and Lance missiles until 1992, despite the UK being a nuclear weapons state in its own right; these were mainly deployed in Germany. Nuclear artillery is subset of limited- yield Tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile Field artillery tactical Surface-to-surface missile system used to provide both nuclear and conventional Fire support Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.
The only German nuclear base is located in Büchel in southwestern Germany near the border to Luxemburg. The base has 11 Protective Aircraft Shelters (PAS) equipped with WS3 Vaults for storage of nuclear weapons (maximum capacity is 44). There are 20 B61 nuclear bombs stored on the base for delivery by German PA-200 Tornado IDS bombers of the Jabo G-33 squadron.
In peace time, the nuclear weapons stored in non-nuclear countries are guarded by U. S. soldiers; the codes required for detonating them are under U. S. control. In case of war, the weapons are to be mounted on the participating countries' warplanes. The weapons are under custody and control of USAF Munitions Support Squadrons co-located on NATO main operating bases who work together with the host nation forces.
As of 2005 of the 480 U. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. nuclear weapons believed to be deployed in Europe, 180 tactical B61 nuclear bombs fall under the nuclear sharing arrangement. The B61 Nuclear bomb is the primary Thermonuclear weapon in the U The weapons are stored within a vault in Hardened Aircraft Shelters, using the USAF WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System. Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS or Protective Aircraft Shelter (PAS are a reinforced structure to house and protect Military aircraft from enemy attack The delivery warplanes used are F-16s and Panavia Tornados. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Historically the shared nuclear weapon delivery systems were not restricted to bombs. Greece used Nike-Hercules Missiles as well as A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft. Nike-Hercules Missile, designation MIM-14 (initially SAM-N-25) was a Solid fuel propelled Surface-to-air missile, used by US and NATO WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Canada had AIR-2 Genie nuclear-armed air-to-air rockets, and Bomarc nuclear-armed anti-aircraft missiles. The Douglas Genie ( MB-1 Ding-Dong, AIR-2) was an unguided Air-to-air rocket with a 1 An air-to-air rocket or air interception rocket is an unguided projectile fired from aircraft to engage other flying targets The CIM-10 Bomarc (originally IM-99) was the product of the Bomarc Missile Program. A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty considerations
Both the Non-Aligned Movement and critics inside NATO believe that NATO's nuclear sharing violates Articles I and II of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prohibit the transfer and acceptance, respectively, of direct or indirect control over nuclear weapons. The Non-Aligned Movement ( NAM) is an International organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ( NPT or NNPT) is a Treaty to limit the spread
The U. S. insists its forces control the weapons and that no transfer of the nuclear bombs or control over them is intended "unless and until a decision were made to go to war, at which the [NPT] treaty would no longer be controlling", so there is no breach of the NPT. However the pilots and other staff of the "non-nuclear" NATO countries practice handling and delivering the U. S. nuclear bombs, and non-U. S. warplanes have been adapted to deliver U. S. nuclear bombs which involved the transfer of some technical nuclear weapons information. Even if the U. S. argument is considered legally correct, some argue such peacetime operations appear to contravene both the objective and the spirit of the NPT.
At the time the NPT was being negotiated the NATO nuclear sharing agreements were secret. These agreements were disclosed to some of the states, including the Soviet Union, negotiating the treaty along with the NATO arguments for not treating them as proliferation. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 But most of the states that signed the NPT in 1968 would not have known about these agreements and interpretations at that time.
See also
External links
- U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe, Hans M. The 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement is a bilateral Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on Nuclear weapons cooperation Kristensen, Natural Resources Defense Council, February 2005
- NATO Nuclear Sharing and the NPT - Questions to be Answered, joint research note, June 1997
- Nuclear Sharing in NATO: Is it Legal?, Otfried Nassauer, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, May 2001
- Questions of Command and Control: NATO, Nuclear Sharing and the NPT, Project on European Nuclear Non-Proliferation, March 2000
- NATO Nuclear Power Sharing and the NPT, Denise Groves, Berlin Information-center for Transatlantic Security, 6 August 2000
- NATO's Positions Regarding Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament and Related Issues, NATO, June 2005
- United States Air Forces in Europe - Munitions Support Squadron, GlobalSecurity.org
- Statement on behalf of the non-aligned state parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 2 May 2005
- Opposition to Nuclear Sharing Leads to Proposed Senate Amendment on NATO Expansion, British American Security Information Council, May 1998
- NPT à la Carte? NATO and Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Nicola Butler, Acronym Institute, 2005
- A Constructed Peace: The Making of the European Settlement, 1945-1963 (Chapter 5: Eisenhower and Nuclear Sharing), Marc Trachtenberg, 1999, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691002738
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic