Next week, NATO will begin its annual maneuvers to defend the alliance’s territory with nuclear weapons. The ‘Steadfast Noon’ exercise will help ensure the credibility, effectiveness and security of nuclear deterrence, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday after a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is a reminder of the important role NATO countries’ nuclear weapons played in deterring aggression, Stoltenberg said.
A maximum of 60 aircraft are involved
According to NATO, forces from Germany and thirteen other alliance states were involved in the ‘Steadfast Noon’ exercise last year. They trained with up to 60 aircraft, including nuclear-capable fighter jets, conventional fighter jets and surveillance and tanker aircraft. A similar number of aircraft are expected to be involved again this year.
According to Stoltenberg, the location for the maneuvers will be the airspace above Italy, Croatia and the Mediterranean Sea. Last year, the focus of the exercises was on the airspace above Belgium, Great Britain and the North Sea. NATO did not provide information about the exercise scenario or details.
Nuclear weapons transport exercise
According to military experts, the exercises, which take place regularly in October, practice how to safely transport U.S. nuclear weapons from underground warehouses to the aircraft and mount them under fighter jets. However, during the training flights the aircraft was flown without the bombs. This is how attacks and defensive maneuvers are trained.
NATO’s so-called ‘nuclear sharing’ stipulates that, in the event of an emergency, American nuclear weapons stationed in Europe can also be dropped from aircraft of partner states and subsequently, for example, neutralize opposing forces. According to officially unconfirmed information, US nuclear weapons are stored in northern Italy, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands and Büchel in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Source: Krone
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