UK Government to buy fleet of nuclear-carrying fighter jets
The Prime Minister said we're "in an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted"
It represents 'the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation'
(Image: A1C Tenley Long/USAF / SWNS )
Twelve new fighter jets which can be equipped with nuclear bombs are to be purchased by the UK Government, it has been confirmed. The UK will purchase 12 new F-35A fighter jets and join NATO's dual capable aircraft nuclear mission in a major boost for national security.
The Prime Minister will announce at the NATO summit on Wednesday that the UK intends to buy at least a dozen of the dual capable aircraft, which can carry "both nuclear and conventional weapons".
It says the decision will support 20,000 jobs in the F35 programme in the UK, with 15% of the global supply chain for the jets based in Britain, supporting highly skilled jobs and opportunities for working people and delivering a defence dividend across the country.
The new fast jets will be based at RAF Marham, with the Government expected to procure 138 F35s over the lifetime of the programme.
The procurement of 12 F-35A rather than 12 F-35B as part of the next procurement package will deliver a saving of up to 25% per aircraft for the taxpayer.
The purchase "represents the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation."
Article continues below
It also reintroduces a nuclear role for the Royal Air Force for the first time since the UK retired its sovereign air-launched nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War.
The UK will deploy the jets as part of NATO's nuclear Dual Capable Aircraft mission, strengthening NATO's nuclear deterrence posture.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: 'In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted, which is why my government is investing in our national security, ensuring our Armed Forces have the equipment they need and communities up and down the country reap the benefits from our defence dividend.
'Supporting 100 businesses across the country and more than 20,000 jobs, these F35 dual capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our Allies.
'The UK's commitment to NATO is unquestionable, as is the Alliance's contribution to keeping the UK safe and secure, but we must all step up to protect the Euro-Atlantic area for generations to come.'
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: 'The UK has declared its nuclear deterrent to NATO for many decades, and I strongly welcome today's announcement that the UK will now also join NATO's nuclear mission and procure the F-35A.
'This is yet another robust British contribution to NATO." For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
And defence secretary John Healey MP added: 'The strategic defence review confirmed we face new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals. And it recommended a new UK role in our collective defence and deterrence through a NATO-first approach.
'This commitment is an embodiment of NATO first, strengthening the alliance while at the same time using defence as an engine for growth to create jobs across in the UK.'
The UK Government said the announcement "further underlines the UK's unshakeable commitment to NATO, and the principle of collective defence under Article V."
This announcement follows the SDR's commitments to deliver up to 12 new conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and £15bn this parliament to deliver the sovereign nuclear warhead programme.
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
Article continues below
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Trump orders US nuclear subs repositioned over ex-Russian leader's statements
The move is 'based on highly provocative statements' from the country's former president Dmitry Medvedev. Mr Trump posted on his social media site that based on the 'highly provocative statements' from Mr Medvedev he had 'ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that'. The president added: 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' It was not immediately clear what impact Mr Trump's order would have on US nuclear subs, which are routinely on patrol in the world's hotspots, but it comes at a delicate moment in the Trump administration's relations with Moscow. Mr Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made. He cut his 50-day deadline for action to 10 days, with that window set to expire next week. The post about the sub repositioning came after Mr Trump, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, had posted that Mr Medvedev was a 'failed former president of Russia' and warned him to 'watch his words'. Mr Medvedev responded hours later by writing: 'Russia is right on everything and will continue to go its own way.' Asked as he was leaving the White House on Friday evening for a weekend at his estate in New Jersey about where he was repositioning the subs, Mr Trump did not offer any specifics. 'We had to do that. We just have to be careful,' the president said. 'A threat was made, and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful.' Mr Trump also said 'I do that on the basis of safety for our people' and 'we're gonna protect our people' and later added of Mr Medvedev: 'He was talking about nuclear.' 'When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared,' Mr Trump said. 'And we're totally prepared.' Mr Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 while Russian President Vladimir Putin was barred from seeking a second consecutive term but stepped aside to let him run again. Now deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, which Mr Putin chairs, Mr Medvedev has been known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since the start of the war in 2022, a U-turn from his presidency, when he was seen as liberal and progressive. He has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media. Some observers have argued that with his extravagant rhetoric, Mr Medvedev is seeking to score political points with Mr Putin and Russian military hawks. Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev have gotten into online spats before. On July 15, after Mr Trump announced plans to supply Ukraine with more weapons via its Nato allies and threatened additional tariffs against Moscow, Mr Medvedev posted, 'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn't care'. Earlier this week, he wrote: 'Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10″ and added, 'He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.'
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Trump orders US nuclear subs repositioned over ex-Russian leader's statements
The move is 'based on highly provocative statements' from the country's former president Dmitry Medvedev. Mr Trump posted on his social media site that based on the 'highly provocative statements' from Mr Medvedev he had 'ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that'. The president added: 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' It was not immediately clear what impact Mr Trump's order would have on US nuclear subs, which are routinely on patrol in the world's hotspots, but it comes at a delicate moment in the Trump administration's relations with Moscow. Mr Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made. He cut his 50-day deadline for action to 10 days, with that window set to expire next week. The post about the sub repositioning came after Mr Trump, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, had posted that Mr Medvedev was a 'failed former president of Russia' and warned him to 'watch his words'. Mr Medvedev responded hours later by writing: 'Russia is right on everything and will continue to go its own way.' Asked as he was leaving the White House on Friday evening for a weekend at his estate in New Jersey about where he was repositioning the subs, Mr Trump did not offer any specifics. 'We had to do that. We just have to be careful,' the president said. 'A threat was made, and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful.' Mr Trump also said 'I do that on the basis of safety for our people' and 'we're gonna protect our people' and later added of Mr Medvedev: 'He was talking about nuclear.' 'When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared,' Mr Trump said. 'And we're totally prepared.' Mr Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 while Russian President Vladimir Putin was barred from seeking a second consecutive term but stepped aside to let him run again. Now deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, which Mr Putin chairs, Mr Medvedev has been known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since the start of the war in 2022, a U-turn from his presidency, when he was seen as liberal and progressive. He has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media. Some observers have argued that with his extravagant rhetoric, Mr Medvedev is seeking to score political points with Mr Putin and Russian military hawks. Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev have gotten into online spats before. On July 15, after Mr Trump announced plans to supply Ukraine with more weapons via its Nato allies and threatened additional tariffs against Moscow, Mr Medvedev posted, 'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn't care'. Earlier this week, he wrote: 'Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10″ and added, 'He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Families criticise Starmer and say hostages ‘will rot in Hamas dungeons'
Hostages held captive in Gaza will continue to 'rot in Hamas dungeons' under Sir Keir Starmer's plan to bring peace to the Middle East. Lawyers representing the relatives of British people who were held by Hamas and those who had been murdered said the prime minister's peace plan would harm the remaining hostages in Gaza. Adam Wagner KC and Adam Rose, acting for the seven British families of hostages in Gaza, said four of the families met with senior Foreign Office officials on Thursday evening. In a statement, they said that British recognition of a Palestinian state if Israel and Hamas failed to reach a ceasefire by September would 'disincentivise Hamas from agreeing a deal'. They asked: 'Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?'. They said the families had 'held out some hope that the policy could not be as they feared and that since the UK had chosen to impose conditions on recognition, those conditions would also be on Hamas, as otherwise they would essentially be rewarded for continuing to commit war crimes, including hostage taking and encouraged to continue that path'. But that 'it was clear from the meeting last night that the British government's policy will not help the hostages, and could even hurt them'. Wagner and Rose claimed the release or otherwise of hostages would 'play no part' in the decision ministers will make in September and added: 'In other words, the 'vision for peace', which the UK is pursuing and which the families heard much about last night, may well involve our clients' family members continuing to rot in Hamas dungeons, just as British and British-linked hostages Emily Damari and Eli Sharabi did before them.' Starmer said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allowed more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months. While he also called for Hamas to immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', he did not explicitly say these conditions would factor into a decision on whether recognition would go ahead. The US accused Starmer, Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, and President Macron of France of being 'clumsy' by saying they would recognise a Palestinian state before all hostages were released. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said recognition of Palestine as a state was 'irrelevant' and told Fox News Radio: 'The UK is like, well, 'if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, 'you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire.' If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September.' The British families want the government to 'confirm that without the hostages being released, there can be no peace, and that this will be an important part of its decision as to whether to proceed with recognition and its current plan'. Starmer said this week that 'I've been absolutely clear and steadfast that we must have the remaining hostages released, that's been our position throughout'. However, Damari, a British-Israeli woman who was held captive by Hamas, accused him of 'not standing on the right side of history' and said she was 'deeply saddened' by his decision. The families of Damari and Sharabi were among those who met with the Foreign Office. Also present were relatives of Nadav Popplewell, who died while held captive, as well as those of Oded Lifshitz, who also died, and Yocheved Lifschitz, who was released. The government said: 'We have announced our intention to recognise Palestine in September to protect the viability of the two-state solution. The first step in that process must be a ceasefire and there is no question about that. 'Our demands on Hamas have not changed. For there to be any chance of peace, the hostages must be released. Hamas must lay down its weapons and commit to having no future role in the governance of Gaza. 'We must also see significant progress on the ground including the supply of humanitarian support and for Israel to rule out annexations in the West Bank, and a commitment to a long-term sustainable peace. We will make an assessment ahead of UNGA (the United Nations general assembly) on how far both Israel and Hamas have met the steps we set out. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.' President Trump had also expressed his 'displeasure and disagreement' with Starmer over the promise to recognise a Palestinian state. The US president, who had previously suggested he was relaxed about the prospect, even though he disagreed, hardened his stance after more countries said they would recognise Palestine. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had expressed his 'displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada'. She told reporters: 'He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages.' Dame Diana Johnson, the crime and policing minister, said there would be an assessment in September on whether the British government will recognise a Palestinian state. Asked if hostages being released would be a condition of that, she told Times Radio: 'Neither side has a veto on what the British government choose to do in September. And that will be an assessment that will be taking place in September. 'The prime minister has set out what he expects from Israel. Obviously, that's a democratically elected government, very different to Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation.' She said: 'We need to actually have the ceasefire, and then move on to trying to re-establish that peace process and the establishment of what my party and I think generally is accepted, a two-state solution.'
