That’s the upside: when you have an alternative, the US has less leverage to pressure you.
Didn’t France already offered?
The Nuclear umbrella needs to be spread out among EU states.
Either EU states get help developing their own nuclear weapons, or there has to be an overall overreaching EU nuclear deterrence (France and UK can continue to maintain their own)
We don’t want the scenario where Trump and Putin help get Farage and Le Pen elected in UK and France respectively, and they in turn withdraw their nuclear promises.
Sweden was close in developing their own warhead. Spain and Italy were along the path as well.
If different blocs had their own independent but interlinked systems. i.e. Scandinavia, Visegrád, Balkans, French, German, italian, Iberian etc. – each with 50 or so Intermediate range (800km) IRBM missiles and warheads.
We could cooperate on common IRBM, SLBM, Cruise missile, air-launched launch platforms, warhead design, fissile materials etc.
Face it – the nuclear proliferation treaty is dead at this point.
Wild that European nuclear umbrella went from sci-fi to policy talk. Shows how fast the security vibe here has shifted.
Build another 4 triumphant-class submarines and share the cost among the EU states. I’m sure France is willing to build some additional nukes and sell them to the EU
> describing French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to offer France’s nuclear arsenal for this initiative as a “generous offer.”
It doesn’t come for free. You’re going to have to all participate financially to maintain the warheads France has. Then the French Air Force needs to be able to deploy Rafales anywhere under the nuclear umbrella.
France has 54 warheads for its airborne nuclear deterrence and 236 for its strategic nuclear submarines. That costs a lot to maintain and develop the new versions of each warheads, missile, etc.
It’s a 24/7 365 days a year mission, France has held since 1964.
This raises big questions about deterrence, responsibility, and escalation.
So now you’re not only “stealing” nuclear energy from France, but you’re also proposing that they “give” you half of their nuclear arsenal?
WTF is going on?
Not just ONE, but TWO (!) good statements from not only a conservative, but a bavarian. And both of them within the same week!
Someone must have drugged me, this literally never happens! I must be hallucinating.
I think we need the UK and France to collaborate on a European nuclear umbrella. We could do it quite quickly and reasonably cheaply by just collaborating to guarantee three boats at sea permanently, and increasing warhead counts would solidify that a whole lot.
One nation alone probably isn’t going to be credible enough I reckon
The US change in foreign policy was the best gift one could give to russia.
11 comments
That’s the upside: when you have an alternative, the US has less leverage to pressure you.
Didn’t France already offered?
The Nuclear umbrella needs to be spread out among EU states.
Either EU states get help developing their own nuclear weapons, or there has to be an overall overreaching EU nuclear deterrence (France and UK can continue to maintain their own)
We don’t want the scenario where Trump and Putin help get Farage and Le Pen elected in UK and France respectively, and they in turn withdraw their nuclear promises.
Sweden was close in developing their own warhead. Spain and Italy were along the path as well.
If different blocs had their own independent but interlinked systems. i.e. Scandinavia, Visegrád, Balkans, French, German, italian, Iberian etc. – each with 50 or so Intermediate range (800km) IRBM missiles and warheads.
We could cooperate on common IRBM, SLBM, Cruise missile, air-launched launch platforms, warhead design, fissile materials etc.
Face it – the nuclear proliferation treaty is dead at this point.
Wild that European nuclear umbrella went from sci-fi to policy talk. Shows how fast the security vibe here has shifted.
Build another 4 triumphant-class submarines and share the cost among the EU states. I’m sure France is willing to build some additional nukes and sell them to the EU
> describing French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to offer France’s nuclear arsenal for this initiative as a “generous offer.”
It doesn’t come for free. You’re going to have to all participate financially to maintain the warheads France has. Then the French Air Force needs to be able to deploy Rafales anywhere under the nuclear umbrella.
France has 54 warheads for its airborne nuclear deterrence and 236 for its strategic nuclear submarines. That costs a lot to maintain and develop the new versions of each warheads, missile, etc.
It’s a 24/7 365 days a year mission, France has held since 1964.
This raises big questions about deterrence, responsibility, and escalation.
So now you’re not only “stealing” nuclear energy from France, but you’re also proposing that they “give” you half of their nuclear arsenal?
WTF is going on?
Not just ONE, but TWO (!) good statements from not only a conservative, but a bavarian. And both of them within the same week!
Someone must have drugged me, this literally never happens! I must be hallucinating.
I think we need the UK and France to collaborate on a European nuclear umbrella. We could do it quite quickly and reasonably cheaply by just collaborating to guarantee three boats at sea permanently, and increasing warhead counts would solidify that a whole lot.
One nation alone probably isn’t going to be credible enough I reckon
The US change in foreign policy was the best gift one could give to russia.