Rehearsing nuclear war

B61-12 battlefield weapon

This year’s ‘Steadfast Noon’ nuclear war exercise ends today, Friday. It rehearses “nuclear sharing”, which involves the deployment of US nuclear warheads stored in Europe by means of warplanes from various European NATO member countries. Around 2,000 military personnel and over seventy military aircraft from fourteen NATO countries took part – more than ever before. The exercise included the new members Finland and Sweden, taking part for the first time since joining NATO. They contributed F/A-18 Hornet and Gripen fighter jets, among others. The air arm of the German Bundeswehr participated with Tornado and Eurofighter jets. According to reports, the exercises involved the testing the new US B61-12 nuclear bombs. They can be guided to their targets by satellite navigation and are therefore considered to be considerably more accurate than their predecessors. Moreover, these weapons are scalable and can be deployed for various explosive impacts. This means they can become tactical “battlefield weapons” with supposedly limited impacts.[1] According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the first air base in Europe where the B61-12 was integrated into training operations, back in 2021, was Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, located between Nijmegen and Eindhoven.[2]

NATO’s medium-range missiles

Volkel was in fact the main hub for ‘Steadfast Noon’ activities this year. Other bases that played an active role were Kleine Brogel, just 60 kilometres from Volkel in the far north-east of Belgium, Skrydstrup in Denmark, around 60 kilometres north of Flensburg, and Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, a good 40 kilometres north-east of Cambridge. Skrydstrup was the first Danish air base to be used as part of ‘Steadfast Noon’. This is particularly significant in view of Denmark’s recently more aggressive stance against Russia. In 2023 and 2024, it allowed the US armed forces to station Typhon launch pads on the Danish island of Bornholm. The pads are capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles. Denmark has also announced plans to procure long-range precision weapons.[3] Reports reveal that US nuclear bombs were brought to Lakenheath in the summer. The United States had already stored more than a hundred nuclear weapons at the British air base during the Cold War and only withdrew them as late as 2008. Opponents of nuclear arms are now pressing for clarification as to what exactly is happening at Lakenheath Air Base. So far efforts at transparency have been in vain.[4]

F-35 carrying nuclear weapons

A new feature of this year’s ‘Steadfast Noon’ was the deployment of US F-35 fighter jets in a dual role. On the one hand, they served to carry and release nuclear bombs. This was reportedly the case with the Dutch F-35 squadron stationed in Volkel. On the other hand, they escorted bomb-laden aircraft. This was role was practised by the Danish F-35 squadron, another asset engaged in ‘Steadfast Noon’. The F-35 is also being procured by the German Armed Forces. The Luftwaffe is to receive 35 aircraft with a view to taking on nuclear sharing duties at Büchel Air Base in the Eifel region without any interruption caused by the planned decommissioning of the ageing Tornado jets.[5] In the summer it was announced that the necessary modifications to Büchel Air Base, which is the storage site for US nuclear bombs, will cost not 700 million euros as originally planned but two billion euros according to the current estimate.[6] In addition, it has been reported that German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is pushing for the procurement of fifteen additional F-35 fighter jets in order to meet NATO requirements set for the German Armed Forces.[7] However, this procurement plan has been officially denied by the Ministry of Defence in Berlin.

A French nuclear umbrella

While nuclear sharing is being practised and consolidated, the debate about creating a separate European nuclear umbrella or, alternatively, procuring a German bomb goes on. As things stand, a European nuclear umbrella could be provided by France. Paris and Berlin announced a “strategic dialogue” on this issue following the recent Franco-German Ministerial Council meeting in Bregançon on 29 August. The talks are to be conducted at the level of the French Presidency and the German Chancellery, with the participation of the foreign and defence ministries of both sides.[8] So far the two sides have always failed to agree because Germany has insisted on having a say in some form over the French nuclear forces – a position France has consistently rejected.[9] There is no solution to this dispute in sight. And the fact that Paris is in the midst of a deep government crisis does not make the situation any easier.

A German bomb

In contrast to the option of bringing Europe under a French nuclear umbrella, some in Germany are calling for “a debate on an independent European protective umbrella under German leadership”, as was reported in the summer.[10] The question of whether Germany is capable of producing its own nuclear bombs is “at the heart” of this debate, explained Joachim Krause, former director of the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK), in August. “We have to confront this issue,” he argues. Experts generally believe that there should be no technical difficulties. Certainly, the necessary infrastructure is already in place, with the uranium enrichment plant in Gronau, the centrifuge manufacturer ETC in Jülich, and the research reactor in Garching. So the project would, he says, at most raise political and diplomatic problems. The Federal Republic would not only have to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but also terminate the Two Plus Four Treaty. This would lead to a political upheaval.

Generations

This step is not, however, impossible. Admittedly, it would be extremely unpopular at present. A survey conducted in June showed that only 21 per cent of all Germans are in favour of the Federal Republic “possessing nuclear weapons”, while 72 per cent are against it. However, there are indeed strong differences between different age groups.[11] Only seven percent of all 45- to 54-year-old Germans and eleven percent of the 65 plus cohort are in favour of a German bomb. As for the younger generation, 54 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are in favour of Germany arming itself with nuclear weapons. This shows that a shift in public opinion is certainly possible, even on the potentially catastrophic issue of nuclear armament.

[1] NATO übt Nuklearschläge über der Nordsee. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 13.10.2025.

[2] Hans Kristensen: New Nuclear Bomb Training At Dutch Air Base. fas.org 13.12.2023.

[3] See: Die Drohnenkrise (I).

[4] How the US Air Force brought nuclear weapons to Lakenheath air base: The inside story. nukewatch.org.uk 22.07.2025.

[5] See: Festtage für die Rüstungsindustrie (II).

[6] Matthias Gebauer: Fliegerhorst für F-35-Kampfjets wird deutlich teurer als geplant. spiegel.de 25.07.2025.

[7] Matthias Gebauer: Pistorius will weitere F-35-Kampfjets in den USA bestellen. spiegel.de 20.10.2025.

[8] Le couple franco-allemand va entamer un « dialogue stratégique » sur la dissuasion nucléaire. france24.com 29.08.2025.

[9] See: The road to the bomb.

[10] Kathrin Witsch: Braucht Deutschland eigene Atomwaffen? handelsblatt.com 07.08.2025.

[11] Arnfrid Schenk: Die Jungen wollen die Bombe. zeit.de 25.06.2025.