Why the United States loves tactical nuclear weapons
In the early 1950s, as nuclear weapons accumulated and miniaturized, the U.S. military leadership began to see nuclear weapons as a means of armed struggle on the battlefield. The Americans are well aware that within the framework of the doctrine of "limited nuclear war," the use of "strategic" nuclear weapons against other major powers will immediately lead to retaliatory strikes against the United States, so the United States likes to use tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of third countries in order to avoid its own territory from being covered by nuclear weapons.
According to this doctrine, the use of tactical nuclear weapons is limited to local territories outside the United States, with Europe having the most deployments.
During the years of confrontation with the Warsaw Pact countries, a large proportion of the fighter-bombers in service with the air forces of NATO countries had the ability to carry nuclear weapons.
At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the main carriers of the U.S. Air Force tactical nuclear bombs B61-3, B61-4, B61-10 (now in stock) and B57 (decommissioned) were the F-15E and F-16A/C fighter-bombers, as well as the tactical F-111 bomber.
Until the early 1990s, there were no nuclear bombs on American aircraft carriers, of which carrier-based attack aircraft A-6E, A-7E, anti-submarine aircraft S-3A/B and fighter-bomber F/A-18A/C were delivery vehicles.
Currently, combat use missions for tactical nuclear weapons are assigned to F-15E and F-16C/D fighter-bombers belonging to the U.S. Air Force CombatAnt-Air Command.
In addition, the A-10A/C attack aircraft is considered a carrier of tactical nuclear weapons. The two-seat fighter-bomber F-15E Attack Eagle, now the main carrier of tactical nuclear weapons, entered service in 1988.
The F-15E fighter-bomber can carry up to five nuclear bombs, but the standard payload is two bombs. When adopted, the F-15E fighter-bomber can carry nuclear bombs of the B61 series, as well as the B57, a tactical bomb with an equivalent of 5000-20000 ah.
The first combat unit to receive the F-15E was the 4th Air Wing (Regiment), deployed at Seymour Johnson Base in North Carolina. The 4th Air Wing now has four squadrons of fighters. Aerial refueling long-range strikes were carried out by the KC-135R stratospheric tanker and the KC-46A Pegasus.
Another U.S. Air Force combat unit using F-15E fighter-bombers is the 366th Air Wing stationed at Hill Home Air Force Base in Idaho, consisting of two F-15E squadrons and an F-15SG squadron.
In addition to the F-15E, it is planned to use the F-16CM/DM Combat Falcon multirole fighter jets of the 480th Fighter Squadron of the 52nd Air Wing stationed at Spandar Air Base to drop tactical nuclear bombs in Europe. The upgraded single and double Battle Falcons are capable of carrying up to three B61-3 and B-61-4 bombs, but in a real sortie, they will most likely hang only one. The F-16CM uses a thermonuclear bomb with a combat radius of about 1000 km without flying refueling,
American F-16CG/DG fighters are also stationed in northeastern Italy. Two squadrons: 510th and 555th Squadrons of the 31st Fighter Wing are deployed at Aviano Air Base.
In peacetime, tactical nuclear bombs stored at European air bases are guarded and maintained entirely by U.S. military personnel. In wartime, up to 800 bombs could be transferred to the Allies in total, and activation codes would only be broadcast after U.S. Command decided to use nuclear weapons.
U.S. tactical nuclear bomb storage site
Unlike nuclear bombs used for U.S. strategic bombers, tactical bombs are not stored at fighter-bomber bases on U.S. soil.
It is well known that the largest number of nuclear bomb depots in the U.S. Air Force are located under the arsenal and manzano at Cortland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The nuclear arsenal and its laboratories and storage facilities are managed by the United States Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.
Currently, the Manzano nuclear weapons storage facility is operated by the 498th Nuclear Air Force Wing, which interacts with the Department of Energy. The responsibilities of the 498th Air Wing personnel include stockpiling, repairing and maintaining nuclear weapons and individual components, as well as ensuring the safe handling of nuclear materials.
The Kirtland nuclear arsenal and nuclear storage facility has approximately 900 warheads (including tactical warheads) that are part of an effective U.S. Department of Defense stockpile, with as many as 100 warheads awaiting dismantling at the Texas plant.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is located 90 kilometers north of Kirtland Air Force Base, the oldest and largest research and production organization in the U.S. nuclear weapons industry.
About 120-150 of the 230 "active" tactical thermonuclear bombs are currently stored at NATO air bases in Europe.
Most U.S. nuclear bombs in Europe are located in the WS3 storage system — the underground layer of highly secure aircraft bunkers at six air bases in five countries.
Each depot can hold up to four nuclear bombs, which are located directly under the carrier-based aircraft and, if necessary, can be quickly entered combat position and suspended on the carrier. However, some bases have separate nuclear cellars.
According to information released by publicly available sources, most U.S. nuclear bombs are stored at Indželik Air Base in Turkey (up to 50 units). Other countries have 10-20 nuclear bombs at their air bases: Belgium (Klein-Brogall Air Base), the Netherlands (Volker Air Base), Germany (Bichel Air Base), Italy (Aviano and Gedi Air Bases). There are also reserved storage facilities in the United Kingdom (Lakenheath Air Base - 33 aircraft bays), Germany (Ramstein Air Base - 55 aircraft bays) and Greece (Araxos Air Base - 11 aircraft bays), whose departments are responsible for the protection and operation of nuclear bombs.
Currently, the F-15E fighter-bomber is in the twilight of his career and will retire in 2030. Then other fighter-bombers
replace. One of the contenders for this role is the F-15EX fighter.
Apparently, the 5th-generation F-35A Lightning II fighter will be the main carrier of the U.S. tactical nuclear bomb. The F-35A fighter has a maximum takeoff weight of 29 tons, an unfilled combat radius of 800 kilometers, and the F-35A fighter equipped with avionics and Block 4 software should be able to carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb. Two bombs can be placed in an internal magazine.