US Nuclear Weapons in Europe - Natural Resources Defense Council

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U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe • Hans M. Kristensen/Natural Resources Defense Council, 2005 have created a capability to design and execute nuclear strike options that is greater than at any time during the Cold War. Nuclear Strike Training Maintaining credible wartime nuclear strike missions require training in peacetime. To support the forward deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe and the assignment of nuclear strike missions to aircraft from non-nuclear NATO countries, USAFE and NATO maintain an extensive infrastructure of bombing ranges where U.S. and NATO pilots can practice their skills in dropping nuclear bombs. In 1994, after the withdrawal of ground-launched nuclear weapons was completed in 1993, the USAFE maintained 15 bombing ranges in eight countries expressly used for nuclear weapons training (see Table 9). Country Table 9: Nuclear Weapons Training Ranges 118 Range Name* 42 Operational (1992) (1994) Belgium Helchteren X X France Captieux X Suippes X X Germany Nordhorn (RAF) X X Siegenburg (USAFE) X X Italy Capo Frasca X X Maniago II X Netherlands Noordvaarder X X Vliehors X X Turkey Konya X X Tunisia Ben Ghilouf X United Kingdom Cowden X X Donna Nook X X Holbeach X X Jurby X Rosehearthy X X Tain X X Wainfleet X X Total * All ranges (except Maniago II) are for both nuclear and conventional bombing. There was at least one bombing range in each NATO nation that hosts U.S. nuclear weapons, except Greece. The list also included France, which is a member of NATO but does not store U.S. nuclear weapons and is not part of NATO’s integrated nuclear command structure. Compared with 1992, the 1994 list deleted a second French range and a “nuclear-only” bombing range in Italy. 17 15
U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe • Hans M. Kristensen/Natural Resources Defense Council, 2005 One interesting change in 1994 list was the addition of a new nuclear-capable bombing range in Northern Africa: Ben Ghilouf in Tunisia. It is unclear whether Tunisia knows that Ben Ghilouf is for nuclear training. The use of the Tunisian range apparently became available as a result of the Joint Contact Team Program (JCTP), which was designed to “bring military personnel together and share the ideals of democracy with central and eastern European countries.” Nuclear strike training appears to have been one of the results. 119 Figure 14: B61 Shapes Dropped at Vliehors Range 120 Three unarmed “dummies” (probably BDU-38) of the B61 tactical nuclear bomb dropped by NATO aircraft at the Vliehors (Cornfield) Range in the Netherlands. Source: http://www.geocities.com/cornfield12000. 43
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US Nuclear Weapons in Europe - Natural Resources Defense Council

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