Turkey and weapons of mass destruction

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The United States has stationed nuclear weapons in Turkey since 1959.[1] As of 2025, an estimated 20 to 30 B61 nuclear bombs are stored at Incirlik Air Base.[2]

Weapons of mass destruction
By type
By country
Proliferation
Treaties

Nuclear weapons

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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, 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]

Chemical weapons

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Turkey signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 and ratified it in 1997.[5]

Biological weapons

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Turkey signed the Biological Weapons Convention in 1972 and ratified it in 1974.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Kütt, Moritz; Mian, Zia (2022-01-02). "Setting the Deadline for Nuclear Weapon Removal from Host States under the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons". Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 5 (1): 148–161. doi:10.1080/25751654.2022.2046405. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
  2. ^ a b Kristensen, Hans M.; Korda, Matt; Johns, Eliana; Knight, Mackenzie (2023-11-02). "Nuclear weapons sharing, 2023". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 79 (6): 393–406. doi:10.1080/00963402.2023.2266944. ISSN 0096-3402. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
  3. ^ Nuti, ByWilliam Burr andLeopoldo (2023-04-20). "The Jupiter Missiles and the Endgame of the Cuban Missile Crisis: Sealing the Deal with Italy and Turkey". Wilson Center. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
  4. ^ "Urgent: Move US Nuclear Weapons Out Of Turkey". Federation of American Scientists. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
  5. ^ "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction". United Nations Treaty Collection. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  6. ^ "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction". 2018-01-03.