There are over 150 nuclear bombs stored across five European NATO military bases, according to a report published by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.
According to the a copy of the now-amended document that was published on Tuesday, 50 of these nuclear bombs are stored at the İncirlik U.S. military base in the southern Turkish province of Adana.
The bombs are stored at six U.S. and European bases — Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Büchel in Germany, Aviano and Ghedi-Torre in Italy, Volkel in The Netherlands, and Incirlik in Turkey, according to the same report.
The recently released — and subsequently amended — document published by a NATO-affiliated body, titled “A new era for nuclear deterrence? Modernization, arms control and allied nuclear forces,” was published in April, and assessed the future of the organization’s nuclear deterrence policy.
The sensitive NATO report reveals that an essential part of this inventory consists of B61 nuclear warheads, which can be carried by U.S. and allied aircrafts. B61 nuclear bombs are the latest nuclear equipment developed by the U.S., which are estimated to have an explosive yield of up to 170 kilotons.
After refusing to hand over 5th generation F-35 jets to Turkey under the pretext of the purchase of Russian-made S-400s, The U.S. could deploy B61 nuclear warheads attached to the F-35 fighter jets in Turkey’s skies.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that possesses operational F-35 fighter jets.
The U.S. had deployed F-35 fleets to its military bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and to its existing bases on the island of Cyprus.
