Report: US to Station Nuclear Weapons In UK

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Facts

  • According to Pentagon documents accessed by The Telegraph, the US could place nuclear warheads in the UK for the first time in 15 years to counter threats from Russia.1
  • The procurement contracts suggest the US intends to station B61-12 gravity bombs — which are three times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima — at a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.2
  • The report claims the 'nuclear mission' is part of a NATO program to 'develop and upgrade nuclear sites' in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.3
  • In 2008, Washington removed nuclear missiles previously stationed at the RAF airbase after determining that Moscow didn't pose a Cold War threat any longer.4
  • The US has already announced plans to station two squadrons of F-35 fighter jets — which can deploy nuclear weapons — at RAF Lakenheath 'to respond to the change in the security environment.'5
  • According to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, approximately 150 B-61 nuclear gravity bombs belonging to the US Air Force are stationed in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Turkey.6

Sources: 1The Telegraph, 2Daily Mail, 3Sky News, 4Guardian, 5India Today and 6Bloomberg.

Narratives

  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. With their irresponsible actions and constant fearmongering, the US and its allies have been provoking destabilization in Europe and the entire Middle East. Russia would view the Pentagon's plan to station nuclear weapons in the UK — an openly confrontational move with the Kremlin — as an escalation, to which Moscow would respond sternly. Washington must immediately stop using unscrupulous tactics to justify its aggression.
  • Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by The Sun. While the redacted documents do not indicate if the Pentagon would store nukes in the UK, it's imperative that the West is prepared amid rising tensions with Russia. The US and NATO are under pressure to transform their warfighting capabilities in the wake of unrest in Iran and North Korea — both Russian allies — and increasing air strikes in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis. Moscow must face the consequences of starting an illegal war and stoking tensions in the Middle East.

Predictions