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The standard system had functioned since the late 1940s, but was unsatisfactory for overseas duty in multiple regards: primarily, it required the weapons be kept mounted on the body of the alert aircraft to ensure they could take off quickly enough when called (despite aircraft not being designed to safely or securely store nuclear weapons). Secondarily, it also posed an [[OPSEC]] risk, as any large amount of activity around the weapons bunkers during a time of crisis would be quickly spotted by the Soviets and interpreted as a prelude to nuclear attack. Lastly, there was a serious risk that wartime damage to airbases from a [[first strike]] using nuclear [[airburst]] or [[Chemical_warfare#Persistency|persistent chemical weapons]] attack would deny access the bunkers for many weeks without actually destroying them, thus creating a much-feared "soft kill" scenario in which most of NATO's [[theater (warfare)|theater-based]] nuclear assets could be rapidly neutralized by a much smaller number of Soviet "soft" [[area denial]] strikes. In a projected multi-day war, this was feared to be a decisive handicap.
Deployment of the WS3 system was authorized in 1988,<ref name=chronology /> and they were in widespread use by 1995.▼
==Specifications==
The WS3 system consists of a Weapons Storage Vault (WSV) and electronic monitoring and control systems built into the concrete floor of a specially-secured [[Hardened Aircraft Shelter]]. One vault can hold up to four [[nuclear weapon]]s and in the lowered position provides ballistic protection through its hardened lid and reinforced sidewalls.<ref name=Nuclear-Matters /> The WS3 system allows storage directly underneath the aircraft intended to carry the bombs, eliminating the need to both store the weapons on the aircraft or to wait for them to transferred from external bunkers. Very few personnel are needed to operate the unit, and the loading process can be completed in minutes with just a few [[armorer]]s and no vehicles needed.
The electronic systems include various classified sensors, along with electronic data-transmission and security equipment such as video, motion detectors, closed circuit TV and thermal imaging devices, thus making the WS3 shelters more secure against [[sabotage]] and infiltration compared to existing igloo-style bunkers.
==Deployment==
▲Deployment of the WS3 system was authorized in 1988,<ref name=chronology /> and they were in widespread use by 1995.
215 WS3 vaults were built for the [[United States Air Forces in Europe]] at 13 sites in seven countries. Additionally 34 WS3 vaults were built for the [[Royal Air Force]] to store the [[WE.177]] nuclear bomb; 10 at [[RAF Brüggen]] in Germany and 24 at [[RAF Marham]] in Britain.<ref>{{citation|url=http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/82558p4j65585158/fulltext.pdf|title=U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, 1954–2004|author=Robert S. Norris and [[Hans M. Kristensen]]|date=November–December 2004|publisher=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|accessdate=2009-06-11}}</ref>
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