UK considers return to airborne nuclear deterrent with F-35A jets and US bombs

The United Kingdom is reportedly preparing to revive its airborne nuclear deterrent nearly three decades after abandoning it.  

According to a report in The Sunday Times, the new British strategic review, set to be unveiled on June 2, 2025, will include plans to acquire Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters and host B61 tactical nuclear bombs. This move would likely mean that the UK would participate in NATO nuclear sharing agreements. 

While the Royal Air Force already operates the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B variant from its aircraft carriers, only the F-35A is compatible with the B61 bomb. 

The proposal, if confirmed, would represent a significant shift in the UK’s nuclear posture. Since the retirement of the WE.177 tactical nuclear bomb and the phase-out of aircraft like the Blackburn Buccaneer and Tornado GR1/1A in the 1990s, the UK has relied solely on a sea-based deterrent. The current nuclear force comprises four Vanguard-class submarines equipped with US-made Trident D5 intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

UK Defence Secretary John Healey indicated a potential policy shift in comments to The Times, stating that “the world is definitely becoming more dangerous” and that “nuclear risks are rising.” He emphasized that, for the first time in a generation, the UK is facing “seriously increasing risks of state-on-state conflict.” 

Return to RAF Lakenheath? 

Though the UK is not officially a participant in NATO nuclear sharing agreements, it hosted US-controlled B61 nuclear bombs at RAF Lakenheath until 2008. These weapons, assigned to the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing, could be rapidly deployed by F-15E Strike Eagles stationed there. 

Recent Pentagon budget documents show that nuclear storage infrastructure at Lakenheath has been undergoing renovation for several years, potentially signaling a return of B61 weapons. 

With these upgrades come changes in aircraft and related infrastructure at Lakenheath. The USAF’s F-15E fighters will be replaced by F-35A aircraft, which are capable of delivering the modernized B61-12 nuclear bomb.

NATO nuclear sharing and the F-35A 

NATO’s nuclear sharing program dates back to the Cold War and involves the forward deployment of US B61 gravity bombs in five allied countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. These nations maintain dual-capable aircraft and trained crews to deliver the bombs in wartime, under US control. 

USAF loadmasters load a simulated B61 nuclear gravity bomb onto a C-17 Globemaster III (U.S. Air Force photo)Notably, Germany cited NATO nuclear sharing as a key reason for acquiring the F-35A in 2022 to replace its aging Tornado fleet. Although it initially considered the Eurofighter Typhoon, US officials warned that certifying the Typhoon to carry the B61 could take up to five years, which would be too long given the planned retirement of German Tornados by the end of the 2020s. 

Germany considered purchasing the F/A-18F Super Hornet instead, but the model was quietly removed from the US certification list. Ultimately, Berlin opted for the F-35A, despite concerns that the decision could undermine the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program. 

Implications for Typhoon and GCAP 

If the UK moves forward with acquiring F-35As for nuclear strike missions, it will become the third member of the Eurofighter Typhoon industrial consortium, after Italy and Germany, to do so.

The decision could have implications for the long-term relevance of the Typhoon and for the development of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a UK-led sixth-generation fighter project in partnership with Italy and Japan. 

Reintroducing an airborne nuclear capability would significantly reshape the UK’s deterrence posture and deepen its integration with evolving US and NATO nuclear planning.  

Strategic tensions rise in Europe’s east 

More broadly, this move reflects the renewed urgency across Europe to address escalating nuclear threats from Russia, as well as growing doubts about US security guarantees under President Donald Trump’s second administration.  

In 2022, Belarus amended its constitution to allow Russian nuclear weapons on its territory, a decision followed by the transfer of tactical warheads and the expected deployment of Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, by the end of 2025. 

At the same time, Ukraine is directly challenging Russia’s airborne nuclear deterrent. In a coordinated long-range drone strike, Ukrainian forces targeted four Russian airbases used to house strategic bombers capable of launching both conventional and nuclear cruise missiles. According to Ukrainian officials, more than 40 aircraft were damaged, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers. 

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In this changing landscape, discussions around nuclear deterrence and European strategic autonomy are regaining momentum. French President Emmanuel Macron has floated the idea of extending France’s nuclear umbrella to other EU states, while German and Polish leaders have reportedly opened talks with both London and Paris about potential shared deterrence frameworks. The post UK considers return to airborne nuclear deterrent with F-35A jets and US bombs appeared first on AeroTime.

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