British jets to carry nuclear warheads

Yahoo

24-06-2025

British fighter jets are to carry nuclear warheads for the first time since the Cold War era, after a deal with the US.
At a Nato summit in the Hague on Wednesday, the Prime Minister will announce that Britain will buy 12 F-35A fighter planes. Unlike the F-35B jets the UK currently possesses, they can carry nuclear weapons.
Sir 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.'
The agreement marks the first time since the retirement of the Tornado in 1998 that the UK will have a plane capable of dropping tactical nuclear weapons on the enemy.
The Ministry of Defence said: 'It... 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 announcement came as Britain's newly published national security strategy warned that for the first time in years, the country must 'actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario'.
The report also warned of the 'growing' threat to the UK from nuclear weapons, adding that the 'proliferation of nuclear and disruptive technology' meant the UK needed to adapt its approach to national security.
Nato's 32 leaders are to meet on Wednesday to confirm a new 5 per cent target for spending on defence and associated infrastructure.
Donald Trump will be among the attendees, days after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
On Tuesday, the US president criticised Israel for breaching a ceasefire agreement with Tehran, claiming both sides 'don't know what the f--- they're doing' and demanding that Israel bring home its warplanes.
Mark Rutte, Nato's secretary-general, praised Mr Trump for making Europe 'pay in a big way' ahead of the gathering.
'You will achieve something no American president in decades could get done,' Mr Rutte wrote in a private message later shared online by the US president.
'It was not easy but we've got them all signed on to 5 per cent!' the Nato chief added. 'Europe is going to pay in a big way, as they should, and it will be your win.'
A Nato official confirmed to The Telegraph that the message was genuine.
Mr Trump nonetheless cast doubt over his support for Nato's Article 5 mutual defence clause, which is designed to ensure that if an adversary attacks one member, then all others will come to its aid.
'There's numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right? But I'm committed to being their friends... I've become friends with many of those leaders, and I'm committed to helping them,' the US president told reporters before boarding Air Force One for Europe.
An RAF source told The Telegraph that the deal to secure fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear payloads showed the UK was 'changing our posture to meet the threats of the day'.
The source added: 'Our enemies should be a little bit more scared to see us getting tactical nuclear weapons that can be dropped on advancing troops. It should make their eyes water.'
Unlike the city-destroying strategic warheads carried on Britain's Trident submarines, tactical nuclear weapons are designed for use on a much smaller scale, such as against enemy formations on a battlefield.
They allow atomic firepower to be used earlier in a conflict, before hostilities have escalated to a full-blown nuclear exchange.
Britain's new fast jets will be based at RAF Marham, in Norfolk, and will have to operate from land-based air strips because they lack the technology to use the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers.
The Government refused to be drawn on where it would store the B61/12 thermonuclear gravity bombs the jets would carry, which would also be bought from America.
The UK will deploy the jets as part of Nato's nuclear dual-capable aircraft mission. It is understood that there are no plans for the UK to develop its own, domestically produced airborne nuclear weapons, like France.
Last year, The Telegraph revealed that Pentagon documents showed America was planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years, having removed nuclear missiles from the UK in 2008, after judging that the Cold War threat from Moscow had diminished.
According to procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base.
The last British warplanes able to carry tactical nuclear weapons were Tornados, which could deploy the WE177 nuclear bomb, and were retired in 1998.
Before that were the V-bombers, consisting of the Valiant, the Vulcan and the Victor, designed to carry a free-fall bomb called Blue Danube, the first UK-built nuclear deterrent.
In 1956, a Vickers Valiant became the first RAF aircraft to drop an atomic bomb.
Justin Bronk, senior research fellow for air power at Rusi, the forces think tank, said: 'There are two things at play here. One is the desire to look at the option of an air-delivered nuclear component to enhance options for deterring Russia from using tactical nuclear weapons, against which the UK's current Trident submarines might be too escalatory to use.
'So there is a desire to act as rapidly as possible to increase flexibility with an air-delivered option. But that will take time because you have to train-up personnel and get security measures, C2 [command and control] and infrastructure in place.
'There will be a much more immediate benefit for conventional capabilities of getting a squadron's worth of As rather than Bs.
'Not only is the F-35A cheaper, but it also has a greater range and a much greater choice of available conventional weapons than the B, including weapons designed to destroy Russian air defence systems which don't fit in the smaller weapon bays of the F-35B.'
According to the US department of defence, F-35As cost $118 million (£86 million) per aircraft, which is around $25-30 million less than the F-35B. The additional cost of the B is predominantly because of its greater complexity, such as the lift fan and other systems required for vertical take-off and landing.
The Government's strategic defence review (SDR), published last month, said more F-35s would be required over the next decade and suggested this could comprise a mix of A and B models.
It added that such a combination would provide greater value for money, claiming the purchase of a dozen F-35As would save the taxpayer 25 per cent for every aircraft.
As part of its focus on nuclear weapons, the SDR also pledged to deliver up to 12 new conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines and £15 billion this parliament to deliver the sovereign nuclear warhead programme.
It is understood that the SDR fired the starting gun on securing the deal on the jets. Over the past two weeks, there have been top secret negotiations between the UK, US and Nato to finalise the purchase.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, spoke to Pete Hesgeth, his US counterpart, twice, once on the phone and again last week at a Nato defence ministers' meeting in Brussels, to thrash out the final details.
It is understood that Mr Healey and Sir Keir were keen to get the deal over the line in time for the Hague summit, to show that the Government's strategy is 'Nato first'.
Mr 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.'
Mr Healey added: 'The SDR 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.'
Despite the investment, critics believe the UK is not boosting defence spending quickly enough.
On Tuesday, Germany announced that it would hit Nato's 5 per cent requirement in 2029, six years ahead of the UK – meaning it will be spending more on defence than Britain for the first time since the Second World War.
The 5 per cent spending target will be signed off by Nato's leaders in the Hague on Wednesday.
Sir Keir will outline his plans to spend 4.1 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, while eventually meeting the full demand eight years later in 2035.