NATO Jet Trains To Carry US Nuclear Gravity Bomb

A NATO fighter jet from Germany was spotted carrying a nuclear gravity bomb trainer, designed and manufactured by the United States, during a flight at an air force base in California last week.

The fighter jet was a “Tornado” assigned to Germany‘s air force. It is one of the certified non-U.S. operating combat aircraft in Europe under NATO‘s nuclear sharing. These dual-capable aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, can deliver American nukes in a conflict.

NATO confirmed that the U.S. has deployed a “limited” number of B61 nuclear gravity bombs in Europe as an extended deterrence, which is often described as providing a “nuclear umbrella.” These nukes, which remained under U.S. custody and control, guaranteed the alliance’s security.

The forward deployment of American nukes in Europe is to serve as NATO’s nuclear capability, which aimed for deterring aggression. In March, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the U.S. warned that Russia continued to build its nuclear arsenal to deter potential adversaries.

The photo, which was taken on August 27 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, showed the German aircraft was carrying a B61-12 nuclear bomb trainer under its belly, according to Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

The B61-12 has four selectable explosive yields of up to 50 kilotons of TNT and is the latest variant of the B61 family of nukes. The two American atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945, the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict, had a yield of 15 and 25 kilotons, respectively.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists estimated that approximately 100 B61-3 and B61-4 nuclear gravity bombs, with yields ranging from 0.3 kilotons up to 170 and 50 kilotons, respectively, are thought to be stationed at six European bases, including Büchel air base in western Germany.

The B61-12 has an extended service life of at least two decades and will replace all Europe-based American nukes over the next few years. Equipping with a guided tail kit that increases accuracy, the bomb can be selected for lower yields to strike existing targets, reducing collateral damage.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration reported in November last year that the new B61-12 was certified on the U.S. Air Force B-2 “Spirit” bomber only, while NATO’s dual-capable aircraft, including “Tornado,” were certified to carry the B61-3 and B61-4.

Digital magazine Breaking Defense reported in March that the F-35A “Lightning II” fighter jet, used by the U.S. and its allies, has been added to the list of aircraft certified with the B61-12. Germany has ordered 35 jets of the same type to replace the “Tornado” to continue the nuclear mission.

Newsweek has reached out to the German armed forces and Edwards Air Force Base for comment.

The “Tornado” was not the first non-U.S. operating aircraft training with the B61-12. Kristensen wrote in December last year that the Netherlands, one of the five countries in Europe that stored the American nukes, appeared to have conducted integration training with the new nuclear bomb.

A Dutch F-16 “Fighting Falcon” fighter jet was spotted carrying a B61-12 trainer under its wing at Volkel air base, situated in the south of the Netherlands, in 2021. This happened before the bomb began full-scale production and entered the American nuclear stockpile in 2022, said Kristensen.

On June 1, the Royal Netherlands Air Force became the first European country that changed the type of aircraft for its nuclear role, according to the Dutch Defense Ministry. The “Lightning II” replaced the “Fighting Falcon” as dual-capable aircraft to contribute to NATO’s nuclear deterrence.