I just came across this info about nukes at Incirlik AB, Turkey.

quote:

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Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium,Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base, 40 of which are allocated for use by the Turkish Air Force in case of a nuclear conflict, but their use requires the approval of NATO.

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So my question is, do the Turks have any F-16s permanently stationed or in a deployed status at Incirlik? Does the US/NATO have any nuke capable aircraft permanently stationed or in a deployed status at Incirlik? That's a damned lot of nukes sitting there when our current relations with Turkey are somewhat cloudy.

My dad was an AF nuke technician at Incirlik in 1959-61 and my family was there as well. ( I was in the 7th/8th grade.) At that time, the AF was deploying F-100 squadrons from the states for 90 day deployments to Incirlik. We had 4 nuke armed F-100's on strip alert 24/7 during that time. The Turks had no permanently/deployed aircraft at Incirlik during that time.

It was quite interesting for a kid my age. I delivered the Stars and Stripes to Gary Powers trailer and sacked his groceries at the commissary. We all lived in trailers, but the U-2 guys had MUCH nicer trailers than the rest of us peons.

Where is that from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Air_Force

Scroll down to" Turkish Air Force and NATO"

Googling around some sites, it appears to me that the program is not serious. I guess they were put there to threaten the Soviets, and now, maybe, the Islamists. But the links I see seem to doubt that the Turks have maintained the "certification" of their F-16s to carry nukes. And since the "permissible links" are all handled by Americans, doesn't seem as if Turkey could get one to go off if they tried.

Maybe they are there to make Turkey feel like an ally, not really so they can use them.

Last, it seems these are some older 'mods' of the nukes, maybe they'll rotate them out and not replace them when the upgrades are due.

I found a link earlier that said they were going to get the update but it's late. I will try and find it tomorrow..

Here is a link dated August 2014:

http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/turkey/

quote:

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As part of NATO's nuclear umbrella, Turkey continues to host approximately 60 to 70 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons on its territory at Incirlik Air Base. While there was some speculation in the Turkish press regarding possible conflict between Turkey's leaders and the United States should President Obama's commitment to "seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" lead to the near-term withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Turkey, both the 2010 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review and the 2010 NATO Strategic Concept postponed a decision concerning the future of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. While the Cold War-era B61 bombs serve little military purpose, they provide tangible evidence of a continued American commitment to Turkish security.

The United States plans to upgrade the B61 bombs to the B61-12 and hopes to begin their integration on NATO dual-capable aircraft in 2015, completing the process by 2018. Currently, both U.S. aircraft and some Turkish F16s can carry the B61, however, there is some speculation over whether Turkey still maintains an operational link with the B61s on its territory. According to a former commander of the Turkish Air Force, Turkey's nuclear role in NATO strike plans ended in 1995 when all B61s were removed from national bases and consolidated at the U.S.-operated base at Incirlik. One expert asserts Turkey decertified its dual-capable F16s sometime thereafter for fiscal reasons. Yet Turkey is at least retaining the option to re-establish an operational link in the future, as Ankara released plans in 2014 to procure 100 F35s, which are set to replace existing dual-capable aircraft across Europe. The government purchased its first two F35s in May 2014.

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Looks like it is pretty iffy if Turkey could actually use the weapons at this point, but apparently they are still at Incirlik.

I wouldn't believe everything you read on the internet.