Artur Kacprzyk of the Warsaw-based Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) said the drills, now underway over the North Sea and hosted by the Netherlands, do not breach the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
“The US weapons in Europe remain under US control and can be used only under American command with the approval of the president of the United States,” Kacprzyk said, adding that Russian accusations “are an example of hypocrisy.”
Steadfast Noon began last Monday and will run for about two weeks. NATO says the aim is to keep allied forces proficient and maintain the credibility and safety of the alliance’s nuclear deterrent.
About 70 aircraft and 2,000 personnel from 14 member states are taking part, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
Alongside aircraft certified to carry nuclear gravity bombs, the exercise includes AWACS reconnaissance jets, air-to-air refueling tankers, and transport planes. Sweden is participating for the first time with its Gripen fighters.
Russian outlets and commentators have alleged that the exercise violates the NPT by involving allies that do not possess nuclear weapons.
Kacprzyk, a nuclear deterrence specialist, told Polish state news agency PAP that the training reflects NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangements, a long-standing program in which some non-nuclear allies help plan for nuclear missions and host US warheads on their territory.
The bombs remain guarded by American personnel and under US control, he said. The current host nations are Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
Kacprzyk said Moscow’s charges ignore its own steps, such as the announced deployment of nuclear warheads to Belarus in 2023, the transfer of delivery systems such as Iskander missiles, and exercises in mid-2024 that rehearsed nuclear use with Belarusian forces.
He added that staff drills linked to this mission also appeared in this year’s Zapad maneuvers.
He added that during the Cold War the Soviet Union stored nuclear weapons in parts of the Warsaw Pact, including Poland, and prepared allied units to deliver them, which is legally comparable to NATO nuclear sharing even if the politics differ.
The analyst said Russia is expected to hold its regular strategic nuclear drills late this year.
In his view, the Kremlin tries to use such activity to raise fears of nuclear escalation and to deter Western aid to Ukraine.
Kacprzyk said Moscow could time these exercises around a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, depending on how preparatory talks evolve and whether the Kremlin prefers to increase pressure or avoid antagonizing Trump.
NATO has said its drills are routine and unrelated to global events.
The alliance uses only inert practice devices, and no live munitions.
The main hub this year is Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, where US tactical nuclear bombs are stored. Supporting elements are operating from Kleine-Brogel in Belgium, Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, and Skrydstrup in Denmark.
Poland has for more than a decade sent F-16s to Steadfast Noon in a conventional support role.
Neither Warsaw nor NATO discloses specific tasking, though such missions typically involve escorting aircraft and defending them from hostile fighters, or suppressing enemy air defenses to help strike aircraft reach their targets.
As a member of the alliance, Poland also takes part in the Nuclear Planning Group, NATO’s body that discusses nuclear policy and planning.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP