<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/germany" rel="" target="" title="Germany"><span>Germany</span></a><span> is actively considering steps that could lead it to becoming </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/what-north-korea-nuclear-bombs-would-do-to-australian-cities/99d09aeb-12be-4c2b-a15f-324b6667bc47" rel="" target="" title="equipped with nuclear bombs"><span>equipped with nuclear bombs</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed his government was in talks with </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/uk" rel="" target="" title="the UK"><span>the UK</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/france" rel="" target="" title="France"><span>France</span></a><span> on the topic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These talks are taking place," he told the parliament in Berlin.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/bill-clinton-hillary-clinton-jeffrey-epstein-files-testify-congress-house-oversight-usa-news/759f2255-ba69-4397-82c3-ab8af43d5bb2"><strong><span>Clintons make a deal that could keep them out of prison</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are also not in conflict with nuclear-sharing with the United States of America."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Germany already has the backing of the US nuclear arsenal under the NATO alliance.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the discussions offer some indication that European powers are viewing </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> as unreliable, Monash University Senior Lecturer Ben Zala told </span><a href="http://9news.com.au"><span>9News</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/germany-nuclear-weapons-france-uk-us-news-world-news/ad38aa1b-e766-4406-ba5a-f72075a5e5a8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Trump has been very clear about his concerns over, if not outright disdain for NATO," Zala said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"With all the discussion about wanting to acquire Greenland, which is the territory of a NATO member, NATO members themselves are starting to think through what a Plan B might look like."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The discussions show Germany is now turning to the UK and France, the two other nuclear-armed nations in NATO.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What that means could just be a change on paper - a pledge from the UK or France to respond with nuclear weapons if Germany is attacked.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That response is implicit in the NATO agreement anyway, because an attack on one is meant to be an attack on all," Zala said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Option two is an arrangement where British or French nuclear weapons are kept on German soil.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This would likely be in the form of French bomber planes equipped with nuclear bombs, since Britain's nuclear arms are all submarine-based.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/melania-trump-box-office-bomb-session-times-australia-usa-politics-news/83eb9bc0-fd79-4667-bba5-6caef958fcab"><strong><span>Melania Trump's movie bombs hard at the Australian box office</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A third option would be Germany developing their own nuclear weapons.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But that would put Germany in breach of several agreements it had previously agreed to, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Germany would then have to start the process of gaining the material for nuclear weapons," Zala said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It would need highly enriched uranium or plutonium. It would need a whole industry that it would have to set up that doesn't currently have to support a nuclear weapons program."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Expanding Europe's so-called "</span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/what-north-korea-nuclear-bombs-would-do-to-australian-cities/99d09aeb-12be-4c2b-a15f-324b6667bc47" rel="" target="" title="nuclear umbrella"><span>nuclear umbrella</span></a><span>" into Germany is about sending a signal to Russia, Zala said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I can't envisage a scenario in which Germany is attacked with nuclear weapons, in which Britain and France don't respond," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's more about trying to signal strength."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>France currently has a strategic arsenal of about 290 nuclear warheads.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The UK has about 225.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/what-north-korea-nuclear-bombs-would-do-to-australian-cities/99d09aeb-12be-4c2b-a15f-324b6667bc47" rel="" target="" title="What North Korea's nukes would do to Australia's cities"><strong><span>What North Korea's nukes would do to Australia's cities</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></a><span> </span><strong><span>and</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=9news.com.au"><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine"><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></a></p></li></ul></div></div>