NATO “finalizes” the plan to deploy nuclear bombs on F-35 stealth fighters

NATO planners are updating the US “nuclear sharing” program to prepare for most European allies to buy F-35 fighter jets, said the alliance’s director of nuclear policy. said this week.

Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation fighter has been adopted by many US allies, most recently Germany.

Jessica Cox, director of NATO’s nuclear policy department in Brussels, said in an online discussion hosted by the Center for the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance (ANWA DC) on April 13: “We are move rapidly towards modernizing the F-35 and incorporating these improvements into our plans.”

“By the end of this decade, arguably, almost all of our allies will have converted to the F-35,” she added.

Her remarks came a month after Berlin said Germany would replace its aging Tornado jets with F-35s, pledging to buy up to three dozen and specifically citing the nuclear-sharing mission. was an important factor in the country’s decision.

Cox said other NATO allies currently operating the F-35, such as Poland, Denmark or Norway, could request support for future nuclear-sharing missions, adding that NATO “will also have some operational advantages with the F-35, which in turn offers the opportunity to increase connectivity and integration across the force”.

In addition to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey currently possess an estimated 150 US nuclear weapons – mainly B-61 gravity bombs, intended to be deployed by strategic bombers. smaller fighter like the Tornado or the F-16, according to estimates by British research organization Chatham House.

Finland and Sweden have recently voiced their interest in joining NATO, and Helsinki has announced it will buy around 60 F-35s by early February. Russia responded by announcing it would redeploy some of its nuclear deterrent forces accordingly.

The United States first deployed its nuclear bombs in Europe in the 1960s. Ending the program was on a list of security demands that Moscow made to the US and NATO in December 2021, but has since rejected in January 2022 – a month before the escalation of tensions in Ukraine.

The F-35 was originally proposed as a cost-effective modular design that could replace many older models in service with the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. In fact, the aircraft has morphed into three distinct designs with a lifetime project cost of more than $1.7 trillion, the most expensive weapons program in American history.

In addition to the price issue, the fifth-generation stealth fighter also suffers from performance problems, so much so that the US Air Force’s new chief of staff asked for a different type of aircraft in February. 2021.