That statement shocked me. It turns out that the new fighter jets (F-35s) being deployed from Burlington are part of the country’s nuclear aresenal. According to the Nuclear Posture Reivew (NPR) which guides federal strategy for the use of nuclear weapons, the military plans to use the F-35 in conjunction with the nuclear B61-12 gravity bomb. The F-35 fighter aircraft will maintain the nation’s ability to “deploy nuclear weapons, should the security situation demand it.”
A group concerned about nuclear weapons in general and those weapons being deployed from Vermont is headed by Ben Cohen and is sponsoring an awareness campaign and petition to keep Vermont nuclear free. While it is true that the F-35s would be deployed from Vermont to pick up the nukes, according to a former nuclear policy advisor for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Burlington is a nuclear target as a result of this policy.
If you’re interested in a signing the petition, you can do so by clicking on the link.