Next Pentagon Chief Confirms Willingness to Provide More Allies with Nuclear Attack Capabilities

Speaking on April 1, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff nominee Dan Caine stated that the United States was ready to consider entering into nuclear sharing agreements with more of the country’s NATO allies. "From a military perspective, expanding NATO allies’ participation in the nuclear deterrence mission in some capacity would enhance flexibility, survivability, and military capability. If confirmed, I will work… to evaluate the cost/benefit of such a decision," Caine stated when questioned by lawmakers preceding his confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. He added that Washington would not support its allies developing their own nuclear arsenals, stating: “Nuclear proliferation, even among Allies, significantly limits U.S. ability to manage escalation risk. It could trigger further acceleration of adversary efforts to modernise and expand their nuclear arsenals. Additionally, it would irreparably erode the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and could encourage proliferation around the world.” Nuclear sharing agreements have nevertheless been controversial due their de facto creation of new nuclear weapons states, with Western analysts having widely highlighted that they&nbsp;<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmdfence/memo/nato/nato03.htm" >violate</a>&nbsp;Articles I and II of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67ecd661b084f4_93360697.png" title="Italian and U.S. F-35B Fighters on the Carrier Cavour ">Nuclear sharing agreements are currently in place with NATO members Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, allowing their forces to use American nuclear warheads stationed on their territories in the event of a major conflict. These states all train to launch air strikes using B61 nuclear warheads under the assumption that they will quickly gain access to them in wartime. All nuclear sharing partners are clients for the F-35 fighter, with the exception of Turkey which is currently <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-considering-turkish-return-f35-program" target="_blank">negotiating to return </a>to the F-35 program. The fighters are considered optimal aircraft for launching tactical nuclear attacks due to their advanced stealth capabilities, with the Royal Netherlands Air Force having in June 2024 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/europe-snuclear-stealth-fighter-f35-dutch" >become the first </a>to have them take over their nuclear strike roles after the U.S. Air Force <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35s-cert-stealthy-nuclear-strike" >did so in March</a> that year.&nbsp;It remains uncertain which NATO members could be candidates for nuclear sharing agreements, with such deals with Poland, Finland and the United Kingdom having all been speculated, while Warsaw has lobbied particularly strongly for such an opportunity.<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/02/article_67ecd791aeddb7_20562227.jpg" title="F-35 Drops B61-12 Nuclear Bomb During Testing"> The possibility of expanded nuclear sharing agreements was raised at a time when European states have increasingly <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/europe-continental-nuclear-arsenal-russia" target="_blank">considered</a> developing a larger continental nuclear arsenal independent of the United States, and possibly nuclear sharing agreements <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/future-european-nuclear-capabilities-uncertain-france-nuke-capable-rafale" target="_blank">centred around France </a>and its smaller arsenal. It also occurs at a time of growing concerns that NATO’s points of contact with Russian forces <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-defeat-posture-polish-chief" target="_blank">could be expanded </a>should Ukraine face a total defeat, which is considered increasingly likely as a result of tremendous frontline losses. Nuclear sharing agreements could help to take significant pressure off the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe, allowing them to refocus towards East Asia which has remained a leading priority under the new Donald Trump administration.&nbsp;The nuclear strike capabilities of F-35s armed with B61 warheads have been a leading concern for Russia in particular, with reports from U.S. media outlets in November having highlighted that a single nuclear armed F-35&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f35-bomb-one-fighter-310000-russians" >could kill&nbsp;</a>over 310,000 inhabitants in Moscow or 360,000 in St Petersburg with a single attack.&nbsp;