Why is NATO expanding its nuclear force?

Jens Stoltenberg, the 13th secretary general of NATO, says that the alliance is in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons and modernize their delivery systems. Stoltenberg told the Telegraph in the UK: “I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO is a “nuclear alliance.”

He explained: “N​ATO’s aim is, of course, a world without nuclear weapons. But as long as nuclear weapons exist we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons and N​ATO does not is a more dangerous world.”

​The Russians say that Stoltenberg’s nuclear weapons declaration was “bully tactics.“

Stoltenberg could not act on NATO’s nuclear deterrent without deep coordination with the United States. Thus the NATO expansion of nuclear weapons has to be a Biden administration policy and program.

Nuclear sharing in NATO

​NATO’s nuclear deterrence is based on nuclear sharing arrangements. As described officially,

While NATO’s nuclear weapons are American, the UK and France have nuclear weapons too.

US nuclear weapons stored in Europe are nuclear gravity bombs that can be launched either by NATO aircraft or by the US operating independently of NATO.

Technically, nuclear gravity bombs fall into the category of tactical nuclear weapons. The US, UK and France also deploy strategic nuclear weapons in and around Europe. The UK has around 225 nuclear warheads (more than half in storage) for its Trident nuclear submarine program. The British nuclear capability requires US coordination.

France is the only NATO country with a fully