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Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

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open sources, there are currently some 500 B-61s in the<br />

U.S. inventory. 36<br />

The United States uses several manned aircraft to<br />

deliver the B-61 to its target. The F-16C/D Falc<strong>on</strong> is<br />

a single-seat fighter that entered the U.S. inventory<br />

in 1979 <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> is widely used, flown in the <str<strong>on</strong>g>NATO</str<strong>on</strong>g> Alliance<br />

by the Netherl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s, Norway, Belgium, Turkey,<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Pol<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>. The F-15E Eagle is even older, having first<br />

entered the inventory in 1974, although the two-seat<br />

E model fighter-bomber entered service life more recently.<br />

It is flown by the United States, Japan, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Israel.<br />

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is beginning to enter the<br />

inventory, with a DCA nuclear variant expected to be<br />

operati<strong>on</strong>al by 2018. A fifth-generati<strong>on</strong> fighter, it is the<br />

designated replacement for the F-16. The F-35 Block IV<br />

will be nuclear-capable. Other DCA states planning to<br />

buy some variant of the stealthy F-35 include Italy, the<br />

Netherl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Turkey. It is uncertain, however, if<br />

those versi<strong>on</strong>s will be of DCA design. Finally, the B-2<br />

Spirit is a two-man strategic stealth bomber that can<br />

carry some models of the B-61, including the Model 11<br />

earth penetrating versi<strong>on</strong>.<br />

The C<strong>on</strong>gressi<strong>on</strong>al Research Service (CRS), citing<br />

unclassified reports, has stated that during the past<br />

decade the United States reduced the number of nuclear<br />

weap<strong>on</strong>s deployed in Europe <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> the number of<br />

facilities that house those weap<strong>on</strong>s. Reports indicate<br />

that the weap<strong>on</strong>s were withdrawn from Greece, Great<br />

Britain, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ramstein Air Base, Germany, between<br />

2001 <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2005. 37 According to the CRS Report, “the<br />

United States now deploys 150-200 bombs at six bases<br />

in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherl<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>s, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Turkey.”<br />

This number is a significant reducti<strong>on</strong> from the<br />

125 bases where U.S. tactical nuclear weap<strong>on</strong>s were<br />

stored in Europe in the early 1980s, 38 nor are there<br />

341

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