{{unreferenced, date=November 2014
Weapon storage areas (WSA), also known as special ammunition storage (SAS), were extremely well guarded and well defended locations where
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s were stored during the Cold War era.
In most situations, the WSA or SAS areas were located inside the perimeter of an army barracks or an air base in NATO territory, but in a few cases they were located deep inside wooded areas and miles away from a
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for o ...
.
Due to changes in the political landscape, the number of special weapons in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
has been drastically decreased. Moreover, the introduction of the
WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System
Weapons Storage and Security System (WS3) is a system including electronic controls and vaults built into the floors of Protective Aircraft Shelters (PAS) on several NATO military airfields all over the world. These vaults are used for safe spec ...
has made WSAs obsolete.
At present, few WSAs are still operational as modern day special weapons are stored in the floors of concrete aircraft shelters and placed under 24/7 electronic surveillance.
Medina Annex
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of ...
prior to NSA/CSS Texas Cryptologic Center being located there
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Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, on the North River in southeastern Georgia, and 38 miles (61 km) from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submari ...