Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has announced his country will participate in the NATO Nuclear Sharing program.
“Due to the fact that Russia intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, we appeal to all NATO to take part in the Nuclear Sharing program. The final decision will depend on our US and NATO partners. We declare our will to act quickly in this regard.“
Under the NNS, nuclear warheads (and sometimes the means of delivery) are provided to the member states that do not have their own nuclear weapons. The program is part of the alliance’s nuclear deterrence policy.
In peacetime, the nuclear weapons stored in non-nuclear countries are guarded by U.S. military personnel. The Permissive Action Link codes required for arming these weapons remain under U.S. control. In case of war, the weapons are intended to be mounted on the participating countries’ warplanes.
Since November 2009, the program has been providing U.S. nuclear weapons to Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as of 2021, 100 tactical B61 nuclear bombs are believed to be deployed in Europe under the nuclear sharing arrangement.
Quite obviously, Poland is not screwing around.