US nuclear weapons ‘on UK soil' for first time in 17 years
A transport plane was tracked on Thursday during a ten-hour flight from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, the US Air Force's main nuclear storage site, to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
Analysts said that the route taken by the C-17 transport looked like a 'one-way drop-off' and meant that it was likely that the UK was hosting US nuclear weapons for the first time since 2008. The US and the UK declined to comment.
RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk is the largest US air base in Europe
ALAMY
RAF Lakenheath is host to US air force units and military personnel. The US recently upgraded the facilities in preparation for the arrival of B61 nuclear weapons, including the addition of ballistic shelters and shields.
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