Does the Netherlands have nuclear weapons of its own?

No. Netherlands is a non-nuclear-weapon state under the NPT. It hosts an estimated 15 US warheads that remain under United States's custody; they could only be used by joint decision, and Netherlands owns none of them.

Where are the US nuclear weapons in the Netherlands stored?

In underground vaults at Volkel Air Base, guarded by a US munitions support squadron. The exact number of weapons at the base is classified; public figures are analyst estimates.

US Nuclear Weapons in Netherlands: Base, Warheads, NATO Sharing

Overview

The Netherlands hosts an estimated 10 to 15 US B61 gravity bombs at Volkel Air Base, a role long treated as an open secret until US documents and former officials progressively confirmed it. The weapons are in US custody; the Royal Netherlands Air Force provides the delivery aircraft under NATO dual-key procedures.

The Dutch were the first sharing nation to complete the transition to the F-35A, whose Volkel squadrons were declared operational in the nuclear role in 2024, carrying the modernized B61-12. The Netherlands sits in NATO's Nuclear Planning Group and has consistently supported the arrangement while advocating arms-control engagement.

A non-nuclear-weapon state under the NPT, the Netherlands was the only NATO member to participate in the TPNW negotiations in 2017 — before voting against the treaty, which it considers incompatible with alliance obligations.

The Netherlands completed the transition first: Volkel's F-35As were certified in the nuclear role in 2024, making the Dutch squadrons NATO's first fifth-generation dual-capable force. The government pairs hosting with advocacy for arms-control engagement, against domestic opinion that polls persistently against the weapons' presence.