BRUSSELS, October 13. /TASS/. NATO’s Steadfast Noon nuclear deterrence exercise has kicked off, the bloc’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a statement.
"On October 13, NATO began its annual nuclear deterrence exercise Steadfast Noon. The exercise is a long planned, routine training activity," the statement reads.
"It is not linked to any current world events, and no live weapons are used," Rutte added.
This year, the drills are being held at Volkel Airbase in the Netherlands, as well as at Belgium’s Kleine Brogel Air Base, which is one of the five European facilities storing US tactical nuclear bombs, even though neither the US nor NATO has officially recognized it. The exercise will also involve the UK’s Lakenheath airbase.
The drills involve about 2,000 troops and 70 aircraft from 14 NATO member states, including planes capable of carrying nuclear weapons, such as F-16s and F-35s.
NATO pursues a policy of nuclear sharing, which stipulates the transfer of US tactical nuclear weapons to the bloc’s non-nuclear countries. At the direction of the US, these countries can carry out nuclear strikes using their launchers as part of a joint nuclear mission. This is the activity that the Steadfast Noon exercise is aimed at practicing.