Experts and politicians call for US, NATO to forgo nuclear modernization plans

Nov. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has informed of the third and final flight test of a B61-12 high-accuracy variable yield nuclear bomb, a cutting-edge modification in the B61 line started in the 1960s, in an announcement published on November 16.

According to it, the test itself took place nearly a month before, on October 20, when an F-15E bomber has successfully released the B61-12 non-nuclear test unit at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, US, “in a realistic guided flight environment.”

“Initial indications are that all scheduled activities occurred successfully and that telemetry, tracking and video data were properly collected. This test provides additional confidence in the weapon system and instrumentation designs prior to authorizing the Production Engineering Phase in 2016,” says the report.

Madelyn Creedon, NNSA Deputy Administrator, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, stated that the flight test “provides additional evidence of the nation’s continued commitment to our nation’s security and that of our allies and partners.”

According to official reports, Washington plans to spend at least $1 billion by the end of 2019 to modernize the nuclear arsenal in Europe and upgrade the airplanes to be able to carry new weapons. Due for mass production after 2020, the new B61-12 will be equipped with guided tail kits instead of parachute systems, and a 50-kiloton warhead – three to four times more than the Little Boy atomic bomb used in the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 2015.

The topic of the US nuclear arsenal modernization first appeared in the international spotlight in late September (http://penzanews.ru/en/opinion/59720-2015), when Germany’s ZDF TV channel has broadcast a report based on US budget reports and WikiLeaks secret documents, saying that new B61-12 nuclear bombs may be stationed at Buchel airbase in Rheinland-Pfalz federal land as early as by the end of 2015. Soon after, the US National Nuclear Security Administration explained that the upgraded armaments will appear in Europe much later, while Ruediger von Fritsch, Ambassador of Germany to Russia, clarified that the modernization plan only concerns the replacement of out-of-date components.

Nevertheless, the news caused an avid nuclear dispute in European and Russian expert and political communities, while the debate over whether Washington and Berlin follow the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is still ongoing.

Some analysts point out that the modernization program will affect all six US airbases located in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey. According to Greg Thielmann, Senior Research Fellow at the Arms Control Association, there will be some 180 upgraded nuclear bombs stationed in Europe after the upgrade, which is at least 10 times less than the projected number of Russian tactical nuclear warheads.

“The program’s conversion of several different modifications of B61 bombs into a single type (B61-12) will have no impact on the number of US bombs in the existing inventory. It will have little impact on nuclear stability or the European balance of military force,” he said in an interview to “PenzaNews” agency.

At the same time, Greg Thielmann expressed his disappointment over the fact that US President Barack Obama’s administration has rejected other, less expensive modernization programs. He also added that improving accuracy of the bombs by introducing a new structural solution confuses the US commitment not to create new types of nuclear weapons.

With that in mind, the expert urged Russia and NATO militaries to establish full-scale contacts and agree on rules of operation for air and sea forces as soon as possible to prevent any further escalation.

He also highlighted the importance of resuming the talks on other vital issues, such as the implementation of New START reductions and additional constraints on tactical nuclear weapons.

“[They] no longer play the role they were assumed to play during the Cold War, compensating for conventional imbalances between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Indeed, these weapons are even more political instruments today than they were previously. Unfortunately, some in NATO and Russia still feel that they strengthen deterrence,” Senior Research Fellow at the Arms Control Association pointed out.

Meanwhile, Inge Hoeger, Bundestag member, representative of the Left Party of Germany, pointed out that every nuclear bomb poses a threat to the mankind, regardless of who owns it, and therefore the whole world must work on abolishing nuclear weapons.

She also suggested that the NATO nuclear strategy hinders progress in the nuclear disarmament field.

“It is clear: if you station modernized and upgraded nuclear weapons in Germany, it is like building up potential threat against Russia, and so this is going to at least cause a possibility of a new nuclear arms race and build up new tensions,” the Bundestag member said.

In her opinion, the very fact that the current nuclear arsenal is stationed in Germany is a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“You surely know it is not just that the atomic arsenal is in Germany, but the German pilots are training to drop those bombs. Already, Germany is not on paper, but in reality a nuclear power, and this is actually against the NPT. Now, with those new and upgraded nuclear bombs, it is very clear that it is a further breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, so I’m strongly against it,” Inge Hoeger claimed.

Full text news agency "PenzaNews":http://penzanews.ru/en/opinion/60078-2015