Jeffrey Lewis480 Nuclear Weapons in Europe


Gravity Bombs of a different design, (c), Shambroom.

Hans Kristensen concludes that the United States keeps 480 nuclear weapons at air bases in Europe, about twice the previous estimate of outside analysts (including Hans himself).

The smoking gun is Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-74, signed by President Clinton in November 2000, which authorized the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy 480 nuclear bombs in Europe. Hans says he has actually seen the document.

Hans has published U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2005), which was reported by the New York Times.

The revised estimate was first revealed in a Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Nuclear Notebook by Hans and Stan Norris.