B61 nuclear bombs are capable of causing thousands of deaths and are designed to be dropped for fighter planes. In recent years, the United States has modernized its installations on the basis of RAF Lakenheath, in particular by building bunkers specially planned to accommodate this type of armament.
According to defense expert William Alberque, these preparations have been underway for several years, in response to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. He also considers that the United States deliberately left the transponder activated during the flight to send a clear message to Moscow.
Can the Franco-British nuclear umbrella protect Europe? “You cannot have a ultimate warranty”
For his part, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia was closely followed by the deployment of US nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom. He also said Russia “perceives an escalation of tensions “.
At the same time, the United Kingdom ordered twelve F-35 American manufacturing hunters capable of transporting nuclear bombs B61. According to the British Defense Ministry, these aircraft will be assigned to the NATO nuclear mission. It is a turning point for the British Air Force, which thus finds a nuclear role for the first time since 1998, the year when London had withdrawn his own nuclear weapons from his planes.
This is added to an unprecedented pact signed recently with France, the Northwood declaration, which aims to coordinate their nuclear arsenals to deal with extreme threats on the European continent.
Washington and London refuse to comment on this event.
In the event of a vital threat, London and Paris are now ready to jointly use nuclear weapons
