The United States has stationed nuclear weapons in Turkey since 1959. [1] As of 2025 [update] , an estimated 20 to 30 B61 nuclear bombs are stored at Incirlik Air Base. [2]
The United States has stationed nuclear weapons in Turkey since 1959. [1] As of 2025 [update] , an estimated 20 to 30 B61 nuclear bombs are stored at Incirlik Air Base. [2]
During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a key issue for the Soviet side was the 1961 stationing of PGM-19 Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the NATO countries of Turkey as well as Italy. As part of the crisis resolution, the United States secretly agreed to remove them from Turkey, under a US military operation known as Operation Pot Pie II. [3]
Following the end of the Cold War in 1991, US weapons were removed from Erhac Air Base and Eskişehir Air Base. In 1995, weapons were removed from Akinci Air Base and Balikesir Air Base, although the nuclear weapons storage vaults at these bases remain on "caretaker status". Since 1995, the only US nuclear weapons in Turkey have been stored at Incirlik Air Base. As of 2025 [update] , an estimated 20 to 30 B61 nuclear bombs are stored there. In the event of a crisis, these weapons would require airlifting to a United States-operated airbase, or emergency delivery by Turkish Air Force F-16C/D fighter jets. [2]
During the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, including the 2016 Turkish coup attempt and Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war, US officials internally debated removing all nuclear weapons from Turkey. [4]
Turkey signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 and ratified it in 1997. [5]
Turkey signed the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972 and ratified it in 1974. [6]
