The US has stored nuclear bombs across Europe as a deterrent against Russia — And , they are here to stay — and set to be modernized.
In Germany hidden deep below in underground vaults are American nuclear bombs that date back to the Cold War. The precise number of bombs stored in the underground vaults in the air base is unclear. Estimates range between 15 to 20, and their location is a state secret. The German government has never officially confirmed the existence of the nuclear bombs. The German government only admits to being part of what is officially termed a “nuclear sharing agreement.”
In the case of a nuclear strike, the American soldiers who guard the bombs located on the German air base — with an order to shoot at any intruders — would attach the bomb to German fighter jets and activate the code. Then German crews would embark upon what insiders refer to as a “strike mission” — delivering the American bombs to their destination. This agreement — American bombs guarded by American soldiers on a German base but flown by crews and planes of Germany’s military forces, the Bundeswehr — dates back to the Cold War and NATO’s nuclear deterrence strategy aimed at keeping the Soviet Union at bay.
The nuclear sharing agreement provides for NATO member states of the military alliance without nuclear weapons to partake in planning and training for the use of nuclear weapons by NATO. While the precise number of American bombs stored in Europe is unknown, estimates put them at roughly 150. Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy are all part of the sharing agreement. With the exception of those on Italian soil, all of the bombs are located within a few hundred kilometers of each other.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-set-to-upgrade-controversial-nukes-stationed-in-germany/a-52855886