Since 1956, Italy has hosted US nuclear weapons, B-61 nuclear bombs under NATO’s nuclear sharing agreement. The stationing of US nuclear weapons on the soil of any particular country is not a requirement for participating in the articulation of NATO’s nuclear strategy. Most NATO members do not host nuclear weapons, yet they are involved in NATO nuclear discussions. Italy however is the only member of the Alliance that has two NATO nuclear bases on its territory: the Italian air base at Ghedi and the US air base at Aviano. The exact number of nuclear weapons deployed at these two bases is classified but it is known that, among the member of the Alliance, currently Italy is the one with the largest number of US nuclear weapons deployed on its territory. Sources disagree on the exact numbers of nuclear weapons deployed in Italy, with figures ranging from 35 to a maximum of 70 (out of a total of between 100 and 180 deployed in Europe).
| Country | Location | Nuclear Weapons |
| Germany | Büchel | 15 |
| Belgium | Kleine Brogel | 15 |
| Netherlands | Volkel | 15 |
| Italy | Aviano | 20 |
| Italy | Ghedi Torre | 15 |
| Turkey | İncirlik | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
Aviano Air Base hosts the 31st Wing of the United States with two squadrons of nuclear-capable F-16 fighter-bombers and Ghedi Air Base hosts the 6th Wing equipped with Tornado PA-200 aircraft. The Italian Air Force is currently purchasing the nuclear-capable F-35A fifth-generation aircraft. In recent years, Ghedi Air Base has undergone major upgrades and in June 2022, the Italian Air Force began replacing its Tornadoes with F-35As.
In peacetime, US nuclear weapons deployed overseas under NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangement are controlled by US Air Force personnel: at the Aviano base they are in the custody of the US 31st Fighter Wing, and at Ghedi the B-61s are in the custody of the 704th Munitions Support Squadron (MUNSS). The bombs are stored in underground vaults (Weapons Storage and Security System, W3S) inside the aircraft hangars, with respectively 18 vaults at Aviano and 11 at Ghedi, according to open sources. In the event of war, the B-61s will be transferred to the Italian Air Force which will assume control of nuclear operations within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance chain of command.
The financial burden of hosting nuclear weapons is far from negligible as Italy pays for the 704th MUNSS base, for all the security upgrades needed to protect the weapons at the base, as well as obviously for the training pilots and Tornado maintenance costs.