US Moves Nuclear Weapons out of Turkey

The western media continue reports on the transfer of nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey against the background of worsening relations between Washington and Ankara.

Two independent sources told EurActiv that the US has started transferring nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey to Romania, against the background of worsening relations between Washington and Ankara.

According to one of the sources, the transfer has been very challenging in technical and political terms, defence-blog reported.

“It’s not easy to move 20+ nukes,” said the source, on conditions of anonymity.

According to a recent report by the Simson Center, since the Cold War, some 50 US tactical nuclear weapons have been stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, approximately 100 kilometers from the Syrian border.

During the failed coup in Turkey in July, Incirlik’s power was cut, and the Turkish government prohibited US aircraft from flying in or out. Eventually, the base commander was arrested and implicated in the coup. Whether the US could have maintained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question, the report says.

Another source told EurActiv.com that the US-Turkey relations had deteriorated so much following the coup that Washington no longer trusted Ankara to host the weapons. The American weapons are being moved to the Deveselu air base in Romania, the source said.

Background on this from Katehon:

​The deployment of tactical warheads to Deveselu, an allegedly purely defensive site, is indicative of the base’s double use. Originally an old Soviet air base, in 2016, the Aegis Ashore anti-missile defense complex was established and put into operation. The technical characteristics of this object, as well as the extraterritorial status of the base, allow the US to deploy not only anti-missile projectiles, but also Tomahawk cruise missiles with tactical nuclear warheads aimed at Russia.  Katehon expert Valentin Vasilescu states that:

The W85 nuclear warhead from aviation bomb B-61 can be easily adapted to be mounted on the Tomahawk cruise missile that can be launched from Deveselu.

At the same time, however, the storage of additional nuclear warheads at Deveselu requires the construction of additional infrastructure.

From a political point of view, Romania is a completely controlled US subsidiary with no actual sovereignty. Its geographical proximity to Russia and the Middle East, where tactical nuclear weapons might be used, make it ideal for storage. However, such turn Romania into a legitimate target for Russian nuclear weapons.