Overview
- The Financial Times reported Tuesday that U.S. and NATO officials have held highly confidential discussions about widening NATO’s nuclear‑sharing by allowing more allies to host dual‑capable aircraft or related nuclear infrastructure.
- Poland and Lithuania have publicly confirmed they are taking part in those talks but have said no decision has been made and that hosting live warheads would be a politically sensitive step.
- Any expansion would first require technical steps such as certification of carrier aircraft (notably the F‑35A), construction of hardened Weapons Storage and Security System (WS3) vaults for B61 family bombs, and extensive security and training work that could take years.
- U.S. and NATO spokespeople have declined substantive comment and officials stress the conversations are preliminary and may not lead to changes, while analysts warn that moving nuclear assets eastward would likely draw a strong reaction from Moscow.
- The debate comes as France advances a parallel ‘forward deterrence’ offer to partner states, a competing route for European reassurance that complicates how allies decide whether to pursue U.S. nuclear sharing or French-led options.