The United States would be relocating 20 B61-12 nuclear bombs at the Luftwaffe airbase of Buchel, near the small town of Büchel, in western Germany. The German Ministry of Defense declined to confirm, deny or comment on the news in any way. According to the website of the German broadcaster ZDF, work on the implementation of the new American nuclear bombs began a few days ago.
Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey, according to the political concept of nuclear sharing, according to the needs they can receive (and accommodate) American nuclear bombs (and in theory also from the other two countries with "nuclear power"). The German platform equipped with B61 is the Tornado. The twenty new B61, will have a total destructive power equal to 80 times the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
According to German experts, from the 10 to the 20 US nuclear warheads are currently disclosed, since the Cold War, at the air base near Buchel.
Italy is part of the nuclear sharing project, as we have said. In addition to the American F-16 deployed in Aviano, the only aircraft under the Italian Air Force capable of carrying the B61 is the Tornado IDS of the Sixth Wing of Ghedi. The Italian bases of Ghedi and Aviano (the estimates are not official) should overall host from 30 to 50 B61 nuclear bombs. The six NATO bases (Belgium (Kleine Brogel AB), Germany (Buchel AB), Italy (Aviano and Ghedi AB), Netherlands (Volkel AB), and Turkey (Incirlik AB) host around 180 American B61-3 nuclear bombs, -4, -7, -10: Within the next decade, all B61 deployed in Europe will be replaced with the latest version of the nuclear hydrogen bomb to be implemented in F35A.
The new B61-12, transformed from free-fall bombs into "intelligent" bombs, give greater precision than the previous version. The new 500 B61-12 will cost the United States just under 12 billion. With an average power of 50 kilotons, about four times that of the Hiroshima bomb, the B61-12 were designed to decapitate the enemy's strategic asset during the first strike, eliminating the heavily defended and deeply built command centers.
In the world there could be 15700 nuclear warheads. Of these, 4100 are considered operational. Russia and the US have 1800 in line about each of them ready to launch.
At the 28 last April, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the report of the Federation of American Scientists, the United States are ready to launch 1900 in strategic redevelopment tested on an inventory of 7200 nuclear weapons. 1780 on the 7500 Russian strategic nuclear warheads are ready to launch. The French are ready to launch the 290 deterrent test service (on the 300 in inventory), followed by the British who have 150 online, tested on the available 215. The Chinese would have 250 nuclear warheads, but it is virtually impossible to establish how many of these are really ready for launch. Israel would have at least 80 nuclear warheads. Pakistan and India should own a hundred. Finally, North Korea could own ten.
(photo: USAF)
