By Staff, Agencies

The US secretly modernized nuclear weapons deployed in Buchel, Germany, in the fall of 2019, Spiegel reported.

According to the report, at the end of August 2019, the US Air Force flew around 20 B-61 nuclear weapons on a military transport C-17 'Globemaster' aircraft from Buchel Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate to the United States for two days to install new software.

The plane reportedly belonged to the 62nd Airlift Wing in Tacoma, Washington, the only US squadron that is allowed to transport nuclear weapons and their components. The US government reportedly informed Germany shortly before the planned modernization.

The Buchel-based bombs are considered a part of nuclear-sharing arrangements, however, their existence is not officially confirmed by Germany or the US, and the location of the bombs remains an official state secret.

The nuclear-sharing arrangement reportedly allows NATO member states without nuclear weapons to participate in planning and training for the use of nuclear weapons, according to DW.

In 2017, German government's deputy spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer advocated that nuclear weapons remain in the country's territory.