(London) The United Kingdom will participate in NATO airborne nuclear deterrence in addition to the deterrence by submarine it has today, buying twelve F-35 planes capable of transporting nuclear warheads, Downing Street said on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will announce on Wednesday at the Hague Alliance at the Hague summit, which is, according to his office, “the greatest strengthening of the UK nuclear system in a generation”.
Photo John Thys, Agency France-Presse
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer
“These double-capacity F-35 planes (DCA) will bring the world leader that the Royal Air Force in a new era, and will dissuade hostile threats to the United Kingdom and its allies,” Starmer said in a statement.
The secretary general of the Alliance Mark Rutte, also quoted, “really congratulated this announcement, which, according to him, makes” a new British contribution solid to NATO “.
Since the end of the Cold War, British nuclear deterrence as part of the Atlantic Alliance was only ensured by the Royal Navy submarines.
At that time, “there was no longer any interest in tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, because the threat had disappeared,” said AFP Héloïse Fayet, nuclear specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
According to her, this announcement illustrates “the continuation of the renuclearization of Europe, the return of the need for nuclear weapons and the strengthening of NATO’s deterrence, faced with an adversary who is Russia”, in war for three years with Ukraine.
These F-35A fighter planes of the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin are a variant of F-35B already used by the United Kingdom, with the difference that they can be equipped with nuclear warheads in addition to carrying conventional weapons.
The “at least twelve” acquisition of these hunters constituted a long -standing request for the British Air Force.
“Agreement” of the United States
“In an era of radical uncertainty where we can no longer consider peace as acquired, my government is investing in national security, ensuring that our armed forces have the equipment they need,” said Keir Starmer.
The United Kingdom has already committed on Monday to reach the objective set as part of NATO to devote 5 % of its gross domestic product to security expenditure.
Faced with the Russian threat, and under pressure from President Donald Trump, NATO countries are preparing to announce to the Hague an agreement on this target by 2035.
London had already expressed in February his intention to bring his defense budget to 2.5 % of GDP by 2027, then to 3 % after 2029.
British Defense Minister John Healey warned Tuesday that the United Kingdom was “faced with new nuclear risks, other states increasing, modernizing and diversifying their arsenals”.
As Héloïse Fayet of IFRI notes, the “United Kingdom thus strengthens its contribution to NATO nuclear deterrence in a way that is not independent, but in concert with the United States”.
Seven NATO members, including the United States, Germany or Italy, currently have double capacity planes to transport US nuclear nuclear warheads B61, stored on European soil, which should also be those used by the United Kingdom.
But when they will be equipped with this, the British “will not have control over these weapons, which are used within the framework of NATO and can only be used with the agreement of the United States”, underlines Héloïse Fayet.
In early June, the United Kingdom announced the construction of up to twelve attack nuclear submarines and six ammunition factories, in order to rearm the country in the face of “threatened” posed in particular by Russia.
These are twelve nuclear propulsion submarines with conventional weapons, within the framework of the Aukus military alliance, with the United States and Australia.
Keir Starmer had also confirmed that the United Kingdom would spend fifteen billion pounds Sterling ($ 28 billion CAN) for its nuclear warhead program.
