A B-61 bomb in its protective shelter
Posted on 11/15/2010 7:05:37 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Despite the end of the Cold War, and the dismantling of over 25,000 nuclear weapons, NATO still maintains a stock of nuclear bombs in Europe. These are American weapons, to be used by NATO allies with U.S. permission. They are not covered by START (the strategic nuclear disarmament treaty) because they are not strategic, they are local, or "theater" weapons. NATO would like to negotiate a disarmament treaty to cover such non-strategic nukes, but to get the Russians to do that, it helps if there are some nukes under NATO control. Like with START, a treaty covering non-strategic weapons would require all parties to show what they got, and where they store it.
Since the 1980s, the United States has slowly reduced its once enormous nuclear weapons stockpile in Europe. Three years ago, for example, an administrative document revealed that there would no longer be nuclear weapons inspections at Ramstein airbase, meaning that the U.S. no longer stored nuclear weapons there. These bombs were intended for the use by German aircraft, in the event of a major war with, well, there didn't seem to be any suitably scary enemies available any more. But there are still about 250 American nuclear weapons stored in Europe, all of them believed to be 1960s era B61 nuclear weapons, configured as a half ton bomb that can be carried by most U.S., and some European, fighter-bombers.
Ping.
Aren’t B-61s the type of nukes the Air Force accidentally dropped on the Spanish countryside a few decades back? They were not armed and sort of bounced around. Do you happen to know?
It was a B28 Themonuclear weapon with a yield about 1 megatons.The fuze mechanism on a B28 could be set for an air burst or ground burst detonation They found other bombs off the coast of Spain
Thanks!
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