UK to buy 12 US-made F-35 jets that can carry nuclear bombs

UK govt will buy 12 US-made F-35 fighter jets. Representation pic

The United Kingdom will buy 12 US-made F-35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs and will join NATO's shared airborne nuclear mission, in a major expansion of its nuclear deterrent, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Wednesday.

The government called it "the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation." Starmer made the announcement while attending a NATO summit in the Netherlands. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte welcomed the decision, calling it "yet another robust British contribution to NATO."

The UK phased out air-dropped atomic weapons in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. Its nuclear arsenal now consists of submarine-based missiles. Only three NATO members, the US, Britain and France, are nuclear powers, while seven nations contribute to the alliance's nuclear mission by contributing jets that can carry either conventional weapons or American B61 bombs stockpiled in Europe.

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