Britain is to buy 12 fighter jets capable of dropping nuclear bombs, Keir Starmer will announce tomorrow.
The F-35A aircraft, which can also deliver conventional weapons, will be a major boost for this country’s nuclear deterrent.
The Prime Minister will make the announcement at the Nato summit in The Hague.
Downing Street said the move was ‘the biggest strengthening of Britain’s nuclear posture in a generation’, and will also see the UK become part of Nato’s airborne nuclear mission.
It came as the Government warned that the nation must ‘actively prepare’ for a ‘wartime scenario’ at home for ‘the first time in many years’.
The F-35A move is a major victory for the Royal Air Force, which has long pushed for a return of its nuclear capabilities. The last British air-dropped nuclear weapon was withdrawn from service after the end of the Cold War.
Since then, the UK’s nuclear deterrent has been carried exclusively by the Royal Navy’s submarines, which the Government has also promised to invest in renewing with four new vessels.
The jets are a variant of the F-35Bs the UK already uses and will be based at RAF Marham. Worth around £100million each, they will be in the air within the next year or two.
The Government plans to procure as many as 138 F-35s in the coming years and says this will support 20,000 jobs, with British military firms BAE systems, Cobham and Rolls Royce playing a role in their construction. They would mostly be made by Lockheed Martin in the US, but 15 per cent of the parts which go into them will be made in Britain.
The F-35A is slightly larger than the F-35B, meaning it can carry a nuclear weapon and has a longer range. Nuclear bombs attached to the jets would be US-made.
The Prime Minister attended a dinner of Nato leaders last night, including US President Donald Trump, hosted by the King and Queen of the Netherlands.
After the dinner, the PM 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 F-35 dual capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats.
‘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.’
Defence Secretary John Healey said the decision followed a strategic defence review that ‘confirmed we face new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals’.
The review, published earlier this month, recommended beginning discussions with the US and Nato on ‘enhanced UK participation’ in the alliance’s nuclear mission, and raised the possibility of acquiring F-35As.
Nato’s nuclear mission involves allied aircraft being equipped with American B61 bombs stockpiled in Europe.
Nato boss Mark Rutte praised the announcement, saying it was ‘yet another robust British contribution to Nato’.
He added: ‘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.’
Alongside the nuclear announcement, the UK is set to provide 350 air defence missiles to Ukraine as Sir Keir and Mr Healey push for Nato to give Kyiv further support. It will be funded by £70million raised from the interest on seized Russian assets.
In a stark assessment of the threats facing the country, yesterday’s National Security Strategy stated that the UK could come under ‘direct threat’.
The country is facing an ‘era of radical uncertainty’, it said, with a growing risk from nuclear weapons as well as increasing hostile activity on British soil. The country faces ‘confrontation with those who are threatening our security’, it added, citing Russia and Iran.
‘Meanwhile, some adversaries are laying the foundations for future conflict, positioning themselves to move quickly to cause major disruption to our energy and or supply chains,’ the report, published yesterday, stated.
‘For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario.’
