Home » New US Nuke Deployment in Europe Raises Serious Questions About NATO’s True Nature

New US Nuke Deployment in Europe Raises Serious Questions About NATO’s True Nature

by Marko Florentino
0 comments


https://sputnikglobe.com/20250118/new-us-nuke-deployment-in-europe-raises-serious-questions-about-natos-true-nature-1121458693.html

feedback@sputniknews.com

+74956456601

MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“

2025

News

en_EN

Sputnik International

feedback@sputniknews.com

+74956456601

MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/05/1c/1118657708_150:0:2710:1920_1920x0_80_0_0_869bc87ef7155294f948b785f619ffc7.jpg

Sputnik International

feedback@sputniknews.com

+74956456601

MIA „Rossiya Segodnya“

is us bringing nukes back to britain, where in europe does us have nukes, what is b61 bomb

is us bringing nukes back to britain, where in europe does us have nukes, what is b61 bomb

The United States has begun the forward deployment of a new generation of its B61 nuclear gravity bomb at bases in Europe, a senior administrator has announced. What signal does the deployment send to Moscow? What impact will it have on strategic security in Europe? Sputnik turned to a senior former Pentagon insider for answers.

«The new B61-12 gravity bombs are fully forward deployed, and we have increased NATO’s visibility to our nuclear capabilities through visits to our enterprise and other regular engagements,» US National Nuclear Security Administration chief Jill Hruby revealed in a talk at the Hudson Institute this week.

«Our strategic partnership with the UK is very strong, as is their commitment to their nuclear deterrent. And we have advanced our thinking together about critical supply chain resilience. NATO is strong,» Hruby added, hinting at the prospects for ‘enhanced’ nuclear cooperation.

Reports have been swirling in recent years about US plans to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in the UK at the RAF base at Lakenheath, although an official announcements have been made to date.

The B61-12, also known as the B61 Mod 12, is the latest upgrade to the US variable yield nuclear gravity bomb design first rolled out in the late 1960s. The Mod 12 is set to replace the older Mod 3, 4 and 7 variants of the weapon, and features a 0.3-50 kt yield.

Testing of the B61-12 was completed in 2020, with production starting in late 2021, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists expecting 400-500 of the weapons to be produced, in part for deployments abroad.
Older variants of the munition are currently deployed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkiye’s Incirlick Air Base. NATO has approved the weapons to be used in battle by select alliance members as part of the bloc’s «nuclear sharing» arrangements.
Nuclear Bomb B61 Mod 12 seen on an airfield. File photo. Screenshot of YouTube video. - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.10.2024

Steadfast Noon Risking Noon Twilight: What Dangers Do NATO’s ‘Nuclear Sharing’ Drills Pose?

The announcement of the bombs’ deployment in Europe is meant to “signal to Moscow that NATO and particularly the UK…are prepared for any ‘attack’ on any NATO country,” says ex-DoD analyst Michael Maloof.

What it really signals is just how much of a US protectorate Western European countries and the UK have allowed themselves to become, Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst with the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, said.

“When I used to live there on a military base, we used to joke how the UK was nothing but a floating aircraft carrier because of all the US bases on the RAF facilities there,” the observer, who grew up in southern England during the Cold War, recalled.

The nukes’ deployment once again “underscores how NATO has evolved not into a defensive alliance, but an offensive alliance,” with the bases where the bombs are stored obvious targets for Russia in the event of a deadly escalation, Maloof said.

Iskander shorter-range missile systems at the military parade devoted to the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, on the Red Square in Moscow. - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.07.2024

Russian Missiles Off Alaska? How Moscow Can Respond to US’ Short-Sighted Euromissile Plans

Can Trump Fix a Broken Alliance?

Maloof hopes that under Trump 2.0, “a total reevaluation of the deployment of US bases throughout NATO” will take place, especially in Germany but possibly also the UK.

NATO’s continued existence, the alliance’s «Cold War 2.0» against Russia and the bloc’s eastward expansion have been a disaster for European security, the observer said.

“I think it’s the beginning of the end of NATO as we know it. This perennial cycle has just got to cease. And given how we don’t even have a defense against hypersonics…it really shows that we’re reaching a very dangerous pinnacle here of escalation.”

Michael Maloof

Former senior DoD policy analyst

The nuke deployment, the termination of the INF Treaty during Trump’s first term and other factors have “made Europe an all the more dangerous place to be,” Maloof emphasized, with reaction time in case of a nuclear escalation being «virtually nil.»

«I think that this posturing that we continually see to ‘show deterrence’ is actually making the West even more vulnerable to attack because it is an agitating factor,» the observer added.

Meeting between Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H.W. Bush in Malta, December 1989 negotiating an end to the Cold War. - Sputnik International, 1920, 02.12.2024

The Day the Cold War Ended (or So Russia Thought)





Source link

You may also like

Leave a Comment

NEWS CONEXION puts at your disposal the widest variety of global information with the main media and international information networks that publish all universal events: news, scientific, financial, technological, sports, academic, cultural, artistic, radio TV. In addition, civic citizen journalism, connections for social inclusion, international tourism, agriculture; and beyond what your imagination wants to know

RESIENT

FEATURED

                                                                                                                                                                        2024 Copyright All Right Reserved.  @markoflorentino