– There are no nuclear weapons on Gerald Ford. This is what the Danish researcher Hans M. Kristensen says to news. Kristensen is head of the information project for nuclear energy at The Federation of American Scientists and professor at the Sirpi Institute in Stockholm. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on nuclear weapons. – All US warships were de-equipped for nuclear weapons by the Clinton administration during The Nuclear Posture Review in 1994, he adds. Hans M. Kristensen is one of the world’s foremost experts on nuclear weapons. Photo: Federation of American Scientists Was too confident During the debate on Thursday, researcher and naval captain Tor Ivar Strømmen said that he saw it as “not improbable” that there were nuclear weapons on the aircraft carrier which now lies outside Malmøya in Oslo. When news contacts Strømmen a few days later, he says that he was too categorical in the wording of the debate, and that he therefore wants to elaborate: – Let me briefly repeat the arguments for my own view, and it is not what many have made out of a short change of words – a change of words where I came across as too confident, says Strømmen. He claims: – The US has the capacity to have such weapons on aircraft carriers, and in the eyes of many, they also need it. It is therefore not possible to categorically reject that they have such weapons on board – despite official information and despite what FAS claims by the always efficient Hans Kristensen. Tor Ivar Strømmen is a researcher at the University of the Norwegian Armed Forces and a naval captain Photo: Valentina Baisotti / news – Extraordinary events require extraordinary evidence – the USA withdrew all tactical nuclear weapons from the surface navy and from the tactical submarines at the beginning of the 1990s. It is also correct that they have sailed without such weapons on board for a long time, says Strømmen. Strømmen believes that there may have been changes in these guidelines in 2017 as a result of Russia and China developing new tactical nuclear weapons, and starting to take them on board their vessels. Come aboard the world’s largest warship. Kristensen disagrees, and thinks there were no changes in 2017 under Trump: – As we say in the USA: Extraordinary events require extraordinary evidence. Someone suggested under Trump that they should equip the aircraft carrier with nuclear weapons again, but this did not happen, says Kristensen. Tor Ivar Strømmen nevertheless believes that we cannot know for sure whether there are actually nuclear weapons on board the ship. – Nobody knows this for sure except those who actually control this arsenal. And I still think that the message must be that no one can guarantee that they don’t have it, concludes Strømmen. The Minister of Defence: – I consider that to be completely certain The aircraft carrier is powered by two nuclear reactors and the ship therefore had to apply for a license to dock in a Norwegian port. news has been in contact with the Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (DSA), which takes regular tests at the nuclear-powered ship. They want to ensure that nothing from the reactors escapes into Norwegian waters. Astrid Liland is preparedness director at DSA Photo: The Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety – We have analyzed samples every day. All the tests we have taken have not measured any radioactive substances, says director of emergency preparedness Astrid Liland. They will not comment on the speculation that there may be nuclear weapons on the USS Gerald Ford. – It is not an issue for us, says Liland. – It is the defense that must comment on that, he adds. The Minister of Defense said on Thursday that he considered it absolutely certain that the ship was not equipped with nuclear weapons: – No, there is no reason to believe that. It is Norwegian policy that we do not welcome ships that have nuclear weapons on board. It has been Norwegian policy for many decades, said Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram. Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram says there is no good reason to believe that there are nuclear weapons on the “USS Gerald R. Ford”. Photo: news Did you know? – I consider that to be completely certain, concluded Gram. See the whole debate here: Defense experts disagree on how the Russians react.
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Controversy over whether there may be nuclear weapons on board the “USS Gerald R. Ford” – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
