Nuclear sharing


Nuclear sharing is a concept in deterrence theory in which a nuclear-armed country deploys nuclear weapons on the territory of a country that does not possess nuclear weapons and extended its nuclear deterrent to that country. Nuclear sharing typically also involves joint planning and training processes for potentially using them, going beyond nuclear stationing or nuclear basing, which refer to a nuclear-armed country's deployment of nuclear weapons on foreign soil without an operational role for the host country's military and government.
It was originally conceived during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union placed their own nuclear weapons in many non-nuclear countries of the American-aligned First World and the Soviet-aligned Second World, as part of the nuclear arms race between the two sides. However, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the concept continues to be practiced by the United States and Russia. United States nuclear weapons, for delivery by fighter aircraft, are based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Russian nuclear weapons, for delivery by aircraft and short-range missiles, are deployed in Belarus.
As part of nuclear sharing, the participating countries carry out consultations and make common decisions on nuclear-weapons policy, training, and deployment, and maintain technical equipment that is required for the delivery of nuclear weapons. In the event of a war that turns nuclear, the United States has publicly declared—with agreement from the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament —that the Non-Proliferation Treaty would no longer be controlling.

Types

Nuclear sharing

Non-substantive

In the modern form, via the usage of permissive action links, including anti-tampering systems, a host country is prevented from unilaterally detonating its shared weapons, on a short timeframe. This applies to currently shared United States and Russian weapons. Due to the lack of transfer of operational control, this has been described by scholars as non-substantive nuclear sharing.

Substantive

Historically, before the introduction of PALs in 1962, the US was aware that stationing or sharing agreements were insufficient to prevent host militaries from unilaterally seizing and using nuclear launch capabilities. Memorandums show that president Dwight D. Eisenhower's goal was to “give, to all intents and purposes, control of weapons” to European allies and for the US to “retain titular possession only.” This has been described by scholars as substantive nuclear sharing. One example was the simple dual-key operation of PGM-17 Thor IRBMs in the United Kingdom under Project Emily. The Royal Air Force officer key began the missile launch sequence, and the United States Air Force officer key armed the warhead, with no real protection from British seizure of the American key.

Nuclear stationing

In contrast to nuclear sharing, foreign deployment of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, without cooperation from the host country's military, is termed nuclear stationing. This was the most common type of arrangement throughout the Cold War, including all foreign deployment by the USSR, and all US deployments in Asia and in European countries without sharing arrangements. Such early deployments were often highly secretive, with host governments sometimes not being informed entirely.

Technology transfer

A separate but related concept is nuclear weapons technology transfer, where a state is provided with assistance to develop an independent nuclear arsenal. Examples include French collaboration with the Israeli nuclear program, Soviet collaboration with the Chinese nuclear program, Chinese collaboration with the Pakistani nuclear program., and US-UK bilateral assistance after 1957.

NATO

Historical

Of the three nuclear powers in NATO, only the United States is known to have provided weapons for nuclear sharing. However, the UK also deployed, stationed, or tested nuclear weapons on the territory of West Germany, Singapore, and the Akrotiri and Dhekelia overseas territory on the island of Cyprus. France tested nuclear weapons on the territory of Algeria, then a colony. The United States began moving weapons to Europe in 1954, first to the UK, and then to West Germany. The US negotiated agreements with the Allied countries where US nuclear weapons would be stored, including Section 144b of the Atomic Energy Act, and a national stockpile agreement. It also negotiated additional agreements with France, West Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, and the UK for the use of nuclear weapons stored and controlled by US forces in West Germany. These arrangements included delivery of short-range nuclear weapons - including landmines, rockets, and artillery, as well as nuclear armed depth charges and anti-aircraft missiles. The US also negotiated a separate agreement with Canada to provide nuclear-armed anti-air and anti-ship weapons to defend North America. The US deployed nuclear forces in Greenland and Iceland - as well as extensively in East Asia: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, but these were solely for delivery by US troops.
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. Canada had Bomarc nuclear-armed anti-aircraft missiles, Honest John surface-to-surface missiles and the AIR-2 Genie nuclear-armed air-to-air rocket, as well as tactical nuclear bombs for the CF-104 fighter. PGM-19 Jupiter medium-range ballistic missiles were shared with Italian air force units and Turkish units with US dual key systems to enable the warheads. PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles were forward deployed to the UK with RAF crews. An extended version of nuclear sharing, the NATO Multilateral Force was a plan to equip NATO surface ships of the member states with UGM-27 Polaris missiles, but the UK ended up purchasing the Polaris missiles and using its own warheads, and the plan to equip NATO surface ships was abandoned. In the later Cold War, the deployment of US Pershing II and Soviet RSD-10 Pioneer medium-range ballistic missiles to Europe resulted in the "Euromissile Crisis" including the 1979 NATO Double-Track Decision.
Canada hosted weapons under the control of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, rather than NATO, until 1984, and Greece until 2001. The United Kingdom also received US tactical nuclear weapons such as nuclear artillery and Lance missiles until 1992, even though the UK is a nuclear-weapon state in its own right; these were mainly deployed in West Germany.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the nuclear weapon types shared within NATO were reduced to tactical nuclear bombs deployed by Dual-Capable Aircraft, i.e. aircraft capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons. According to the press, Eastern European member states of NATO have resisted the withdrawal of the shared nuclear bombs from Europe, fearing it would show a weakening of US commitment to defend Europe against Russia.

Weapon types

, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom have been hosting US nuclear weapons as part of NATO's nuclear sharing policy. They are assigned to delivery by specific US and European aircraft wings, operating NATO-designated dual-capable aircraft.
In peacetime, the nuclear weapons stored in non-nuclear countries are guarded by United States Air Force personnel and previously, some nuclear artillery and missile systems were guarded by United States Army personnel; the permissive action link codes required for arming them remain under American 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.
, 125 to 130 tactical B61 nuclear bombs are believed to be deployed in Europe under the nuclear sharing arrangement. The weapons are stored within a vault in hardened aircraft shelters, using the USAF WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System. European air forces operate General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons and Panavia Tornados Interdictor/Strike, and are in the process of transitioning to Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightnings II. United States Air Forces in Europe operates F-16s at Aviano, Italy, and both F-35As and McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles at Lakenheath, UK. F-35As only operate under the USAF from RAF Lakenheath. The use of stockpiled American B61s in Europe, via the DCA programme, is claimed to require authorization from the NATO Nuclear Planning Group and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in addition to the US president.

Belgium

The United States has stationed nuclear weapons in the Kingdom of Belgium since 1963. , an estimated 10 to 15 B61 nuclear bombs are stored at Kleine Brogel Air Base, maintained by USAFE's 701st Munitions Support Squadron and designated for the usage of the Belgian 10th Tactical Wing, flying their F-16 MLU fighter jets.

Italy

In Italy, B61 bombs are stored at the Ghedi Air Base and at the Aviano Air Base. According to the former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, Italy's role in a planned retaliation consisted in striking with those nuclear weapons Czechoslovakia and Hungary had the Warsaw Pact waged nuclear war against NATO. He acknowledged the presence of US nuclear weapons in Italy, and speculated about the possible presence of British and French nuclear weapons.