US fighter jets capable of nuclear bombing to be based in UK

New United States fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be based in the UK as soon as this year.

Two squadrons of F-35 As have been deployed and will arrive at the US-rented RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk imminently, The Telegraph understands.

The stealth jets are designed to carry out tactical nuclear bombing and are capable of conducting air-to-air missions and intelligence gathering.

It comes after official documents suggested US nuclear weapons could return to British soil. 

The documents revealed that the US Congress received an air force budgetary request for $50 million (£39.6 million) to build a “surety dormitory” at the American airbase. The term “surety” is used in US military parlance to refer to nuclear weapons.

Analysts believe the dormitory would accommodate an increased number of military personnel if nuclear weapons are deployed to bolster the 6,000 members of personnel who currently work at the base.

A defence source told The Telegraph: “F-35s will be based there. They have deployed and will be moving in at the end of this year, if not sometime in 2024.”

Military sources described the move to bring in 54 F-35s, which will replace the F-15s currently at the airbase, as “significant”. F-15s are able to carry nuclear weapons, but are less advanced.

The source said: “It’s a newer, more capable aircraft, which has a longer range and stealth, which is crucial if you are going to use them to accurately drop nuclear bombs.”

A total of 110 US nuclear bombs were stored at RAF Lakenheath until 2008, when they were removed after the threat of nuclear war subsided.

Both the Ministry of Defence and No 10 declined to comment on whether American nuclear warheads had or would be deployed to the UK.

However, the defence source added: “Why we have a special relationship with the US is because we talk to them, they talk to us and we don’t divulge secrets.”

The potential return of US nuclear weapons to British soil has been described by experts as evidence that the West has entered a new cold war.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of Britain and Nato’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, said: “This is absolutely a cold war and it is strategic brinkmanship. This is a game of poker. If the US is putting nukes in the UK, it’s a message to Russia that they are serious. 

“The deterrent is only a deterrent if the enemy thinks you will use it. That’s worked for the last 75 years, but we are now in a position where a tyrant in an unstable country is threatening to use nuclear weapons and the only way to stop them is to make them see they will get it back in spades.”

Prof Malcolm Chalmers, of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said building on the airbase means the US “could move them a lot more quickly in a time of rising tensions”, adding: “They want the option of bringing them over.”

Matt Hancock, whose West Suffolk constituency covers RAF Lakenheath, said he welcomed the “potential expansion”.

“I know only too well how special RAF Lakenheath is and recognise the importance of reinforcing our commitment to shared security and democratic values,” he said. 

“The people of West Suffolk have long been proud to welcome American service personnel who live in our community. We must continue to support and stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends and allies, especially in the face of Putin’s menacing aggression.”

‘Strategic alliance’

Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the defence select committee, said: “If the Americans believe they need to store nuclear weapons this side of the Atlantic, it is a massive indicator of how dangerous and complex our world is becoming.”

Mr Ellwood added that the UK is “part of a strategic alliance” in which “the US is our closest partner”, adding: “If they believe it is in wider security interests to place these weapons in the UK, then we should be supportive of that.”

Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists think tank, said analysis of official US government budgetary documents showed upgrades to RAF Lakenheath that could enable nuclear weapons to be moved to the site if required.

Currently, there are around 150 American-controlled B-61 nuclear gravity bombs stationed in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey.

“We are now seeing signs that they may establish nuclear weapons at Lakenheath,” Mr Kristensen told The Telegraph.

He explained the new funding secured for the base would be to “both upgrade the storage facilities for nuclear weapons and add living quarters for personnel to do the mission”.

However, Mr Kristensen warned that Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, would have to agree to any nuclear weapons being stored on British soil, as well as Nato because of its nuclear posture in Europe.

He added that any such deployment of nuclear weapons would have to be authorised by the US president.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has vowed to stop American nuclear weapons from returning to UK soil. CND warned that if such weapons do return to Britain, it would “make the UK once again a forward nuclear base for the US”.