US Nuclear Bomb Held in the Netherlands May Have Been Damaged: The Guardian

One of the American B61 thermonuclear bombs stored at the Volkel airbase in the Netherlands may have been damaged following a recent incident, The Guardian reported on Monday, citing the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a non-profit organization.

FAS possesses a photo of the malfunctioning bomb, which is currently being verified by the bomb squad. The image was presented to students seeking work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the centers for American nuclear weapons production in New Mexico. The photo has been confirmed to be associated with the Volkel airbase, one of six bases in Europe where nearly a hundred B61 bombs are currently stored.

“It is important to note that there is no official confirmation that the photo was taken at the Volkel airbase, that the damaged B61 is real (and not a training device), and that its damage resulted from an incident (and is not part of a training scenario),” emphasized Hans Kristensen, a representative of FAS.

He clarified that if the authenticity of the image can be confirmed, it would be the first documented incident involving nuclear weapons at European airbases.

The Guardian reminds us that any incidents related to nuclear weapons are typically classified. A representative of the United States Air Force in Europe has not directly commented on the information regarding this photo, citing confidentiality policies.

According to the publication, the B61 is the only example of tactical nuclear weapons remaining in the US arsenal, but it has now been upgraded to the B61-12 version. New versions of the B61 are now being deployed in Europe. Currently, about 100 bombs are stored in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Turkey.

These bombs remain the property of the United States, but personnel from six NATO countries—where the bombs are stored, as well as Greece—are trained to load them onto aircraft and fly with such cargo. In case of emergencies, the US, the UK, and the NATO nuclear planning group must agree on the deployment of these bombs on alliance aircraft.

Every year, NATO tests the capability for such operations involving nuclear weapons during the Steadfast Noon exercises. The most recent exercises took place last November.