US nuclear weapons in Italy

Italy hosts the largest share of US nuclear weapons in Europe: an estimated 35 B61 gravity bombs split between Aviano Air Base, where they would be delivered by the US Air Force's own F-16 wing, and Ghedi Air Base, where Italian Tornado crews hold the national dual-capable mission. Both sites have been progressively upgraded for the modernized B61-12.

The Aeronautica Militare is transitioning the Ghedi role from the Tornado to the F-35A, which Italy builds under license at Cameri. The F-35A type is certified by the United States for the B61-12, but there is no public indication that Ghedi's F-35As have yet taken over the national nuclear role; the Tornado phase-out at the base runs to about 2027, and the Tornado crews hold the mission until then. Ghedi's new-generation infrastructure is built for the F-35A, while Aviano's US-operated mission continues in parallel.

Italy participates in NATO's Nuclear Planning Group, and governments across the spectrum have kept the arrangement steady and low-profile.

Like the other host states, Italy is a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the NPT: the weapons remain under US custody in peacetime and could only be released by US and NATO decision. Rome has not signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Italy is not among the nine European partners of the "forward deterrence" dialogue opened by France on 2 March 2026, which as of June 2026 comprises the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Greece and Norway.