VIENNA — U.S. officials are engaged in NATO-internal discussions about the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons to new countries within the alliance, a new report says, in what would be a remarkable proliferation in nuclear sharing.
The Financial Times was the first to report the discussions on Tuesday, citing three unnamed people “briefed on the discussions.” The conversations were reportedly focused on the forward deployment of what Washington calls dual-capable aircraft - military jets that can carry out either conventional missions or drop nuclear bombs.
Such DCAs are integral to the NATO nuclear sharing architecture, which currently has forward-deployed U.S. nuclear bombs at air bases in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the U.K.
Countries at the eastern flank of NATO, particularly Poland and the Baltic States, were the most vocally interested in hosting U.S. dual-capable aircraft, the Financial Times reported its sources as saying.
Poland has publicly courted nuclear bombs being deployed in its country to deter Russia, with former president Duda explicitly inviting such a deployment from the U.S. This has since been walked back somewhat by the new government, but the conversation remains active and urgent in Warsaw.
Poland has also signed up for France’s “forward deterrence” scheme, which promises to expand the French nuclear umbrella over the Eastern European country and may see the temporary deployment of French nuclear-capable jets to Poland down the line.
According to the Financial Times, the current U.S. nuclear sharing discussions are being held through NATO channels.
The alliance is undergoing a transformation as the U.S. reduces its focus and conventional forces in Europe, and capitals on the continent significantly step up their own defense spending. The discussion surrounding expanded U.S. nuclear sharing is meant to assuage fears in European capitals that they may be left to fend for themselves by their powerful treaty partner in Washington, the FT cited its sources as saying.
While the discussions were ongoing, an agreement to expand U.S. nuclear hosting was not imminent, an unnamed source told the FT.
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