US nuclear weapons in Germany

Germany hosts an estimated 15 US B61 gravity bombs at Büchel Air Base in the Eifel, under NATO nuclear sharing. The weapons are in US custody; German aircraft and crews train to deliver them under dual authorization. Berlin's participation — dating to the Cold War, when US nuclear weapons in West Germany numbered in the thousands — is framed as the counterpart of its seat in NATO's Nuclear Planning Group.

The Luftwaffe's aging Tornado fleet is being replaced in the nuclear role by 35 F-35As ordered in 2022 precisely to preserve the mission; the first aircraft arrive at Büchel in the late 2020s alongside a rebuild of the base's infrastructure.

Germany is a non-nuclear-weapon state under the NPT and reaffirmed its renunciation of nuclear weapons in the 2+4 treaty of 1990. The hosting role survived repeated coalition debates; since 2022, and more sharply since doubts grew over the durability of US guarantees, German discussion has widened to include French and British proposals for a European pillar of deterrence.

Büchel's rebuild is underway for the F-35A, whose deliveries begin in the late 2020s; the B61-12 was certified on the type in 2024. More consequentially, the German debate moved in 2025-2026 from whether to host US weapons to whether Europe needs a pillar of its own — with Berlin openly discussing what the French and British arsenals could underwrite if American guarantees thinned.