Last year, in response to Moscow’s claim that Russia would move intermediate-range ballistic missiles, or non-strategic nuclear weapons, into nearby Belarus, Poland’s former right-wing government indicated its willingness to become a nuclear weapons-sharing country within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Specifically, Warsaw said it was open to making their U.S.-made F-35 Lightning II warplane fleet capable of carrying American-made B-61 nuclear bombs.

More recently, in the wake of NATO’s decision to allow Ukraine’s military to fire American long-range ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, the Russian military retaliated by firing its impressive Oreshnik hypersonic weapon at the city of Dnipro. The West has no active defense against that weapon, which is nuclear-capable, or anything that is comparable in its arsenal.

Thus, when conversations about possible escalations with Russia occur, inevitably, the nuclear canard comes up.

The Polish government that originally floated the prospect of becoming a B-61 nuclear bomb-supporting state was ousted in the previous Polish elections. Yet, its successor government, while much more left-wing politically, shares its predecessor’s understandable opposition to Russian irredentism in the former Soviet bloc.

Escalation Begets Escalation

With the recent use of the Oreshnik Hypersonic Weapon and the Kremlin’s subsequent declaration that Russia is moving a tranche of these devastating weapons into Belarus, Poland is again feeling the proverbial squeeze.

And it isn’t only NATO members, such as Poland, that are trying to get in on the nuclear escalation talk against Russia. The Ukrainians sound obsessed with the prospect of gaining (or, regaining, if you believe their propaganda) nuclear weapons from the West.

For starters, the idea that the West would allow for nuclear weapons to be stationed in—or more frighteningly, handed over to—Ukraine, a non-NATO member, is essentially crazy. Sadly, given how the Ukraine war has progressed, it cannot be overruled (especially since the Americans allowed their ATACMS to be used against Russia after having spent two years refusing Ukraine’s requests to use them inside Russia).

Regardless of which European country “goes nuclear,” whether it be the actual NATO member, Poland, or Ukraine, readers can no longer dismiss the prospect that the nuclear genie will soon be out of the bottle in Eastern Europe. Certainly, while there are many other, more powerful nuclear weapons that could be handed over either to the Poles or the Ukrainians, the B-61 nukes are probably the best choice (especially for Poland).

Understanding the B-61

The B-61 has been a pivotal player in NATO defense policy for decades. B-61s have been stationed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey over the years. It can also be fired from the B-2 Spirit long-range nuclear stealth bomber, the F-15E, and, as mentioned above, the F-35.

The B-61 has been referred to as “dial-a-yield” because the severity of the explosion it creates can be adjusted from 0.3 kilotons to as high as 360 kilotons. These weapons can withstand supersonic flight and possess earth-penetration abilities for blasting through hardened structures. Multiple modifications have been created to make the B-61 one of NATO’s best doomsday weapons.

First designed in the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory believed that they were building one of the most advanced nukes in the world. These bombs were first designed to replace the aging B-28 and B-43 nuclear bombs. The first B-61 underwent testing in 1963 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. The B-61 also introduced the first “Full Fuzing Option,” which allowed for various deployment options, depending on the mission set. This included an airburst, ground-burst, freefall, and laydown delivery settings.

America’s most recent mod, the B61-13 will be a “gravity bomb” variant of this potent and enduring weapon. A gravity bomb is a nuke that is dropped from a nuclear-capable warplane that is utterly indiscriminate in its killing and destructive power. Indeed, it is designed to maximize civilian deaths. It’s believed that a single B61-13 gravity bomb would be up to twenty-four times more powerful than the nukes America dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

The Strategic Context (or Lack Thereof) 

Russia has certainly not behaved innocently in the war. 

Yet, it must be stated that the Americans and their NATO allies have refused every chance to deescalate the conflict over Ukraine, leading to the point now where we are seriously considering the prospects of proliferating nuclear weapons to Poland or, possibly even, Ukraine. 

Poland, as a NATO member in good standing, has a right to participate in the alliance’s nuclear-weapons-sharing program. At this point, though, it will further destabilize the situation, making any chance of a peaceful settlement between the West and Russia over Ukraine unlikely.

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.