The UK is set to purchase 12 new F-35A jets in a move billed by Downing Street as ‘the biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation’
Keir Starmer says he will oversee the “biggest strengthening” of the UK’s nuclear deterrence in three decades after confirming RAF pilots will get nuke-capable jets.
The move will see the UK purchase 12 F-35A jets and join NATO’s airborne nuclear mission.
The jets, a variant of the F35Bs the UK already uses, can carry conventional weapons, but can also be equipped with nuclear bombs.
The Prime Minister 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 decision represents a victory for the Royal Air Force, which has long pushed for a return of its nuclear capabilities since the last British air-dropped nuclear weapon was withdrawn from service after the end of the Cold War.
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Just last month, the company behind the F-35 fighter jets issued an update on their plans to develop an autonomous aircraft.
At Bernstein’s 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet suggested that a F-35 fighter jet with an “optional” pilot could be possible within a “relatively modest time frame.”
Developing autonomous or ‘uncrewed’ aircraft has been a top priority for the U.S. Air Force. Its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) initiative focuses on unmanned jets designed to operate alongside manned aircraft or independently across various missions.
Air Force leadership has touted these “loyal wingmen” as not only giving pilots a variety of options for how to employ them — as sensors, weapons carriers, or jamming platforms — but also offering the possibility of having enough with lower costs than crewed aircraft.
This cost-effectiveness could prove crucial in a conflict with peer adversaries like China or Russia, allowing pilots to deploy CCAs on high-risk missions.
Taiclet noted that Lockheed Martin’s vision for the F-35 includes making it optionally manned to complement the CCA concept.
“We’re thinking of the F-35 not just as a standalone platform, but as one that can integrate with sixth-generation aircraft and unmanned systems, with the ability to be optionally manned,” he said.
Since the 1990s, 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.
Sir Keir added: “Supporting 100 businesses across the country and more than 20,000 jobs, these F35 dual capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our Allies.”
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 F35As.
It comes as the Prime Minister warned today at the NATO summit that it is a “mistake” to think the only threats Britain faces are far off – saying the British homeland faces danger “on a daily basis”.
Asked by The Mirror about an alarming dossier that said Brits must “actively prepare” for war, he voiced his alarm over “sophisticated” attacks on the UK mainland. The Prime Minister announced that security spending will be ramped up dramatically in a “decisive message to aggressors”.
Speaking today at The Hague in the Netherlands, the PM stated: “It is a mistake to think that the only threat we face is external and far off. We do face threats at home all of the time on a daily basis.
“There are cyber attacks that have to be dealt with and all being dealt with. They are ever more sophisticated. We need to have the capability to deal with them.”
The PM stated that Europe has made a “fundamental shift in its posture” by ramping up its focus on security in the face of new threats. He said NATO members have agreed to raise spending to 5% within a decade, and vowed that the UK will reach 4.1% by 2027.
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