Tactical Nuclear Weapons

Russia is thought to have well over 1,000 tactical weapons over various sorts along its western border, including the enclave of Kaliningrad. The US has about 180 B61 nuclear gravity bombs stored at bases in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. These Cold War relics are generally agreed to serve no military purpose...

BBC News

At the Munich Security Conference in February 2012, the Global Zero NATO-Russia Commission – comprised of eminent American, European and Russian leaders and experts – issued a groundbreaking report calling for the United States and Russia to remove all of their tactical nuclear weapons from combat bases on the European continent. The briefing included images of the bases where those weapons may be deployed.

İncirlik Air Base in Turkey houses approximately 50 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.

The proposal, backed by more than 50 former prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers, national security experts and top military commanders, calls for the United States and Russia to remove these weapons as a next step toward broader U.S.-Russian arms reductions to 1,000 total nuclear weapons each. Global Zero is urging leaders of NATO member countries and Russia to adopt this approach.

Read our report, Global Zero NATO-Russia Commission Report.