June 25 (UPI) — Britain is purchasing at least a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons from the United States and will be joining NATO’s dual-capable aircraft nuclear mission.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement Wednesday, during the final day of the three-day NATO summit being held at The Hague.
“The UK’s commitment to NATO is unquestionable, as is the alliance’s contribution to keeping the UK safe and secure, but we must all step up to protect the Euro-Atlantic area for generations to come,” Starmer said in a statement.
He added that the addition of the F-35A aircraft “will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our allies.”
The F-35A fighter jet is a Lockheed Martine aircraft that replaced the U.S. Air Forces’ F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II, and packs 43,000 pounds of thrust.
According to 10 Downing Street, the newly purchased fighters will be based at Royal Air Force Marham, with expectations that London will procure 138 of them over the lifetime of the program.
NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy and force relies heavily, though not entirely, on the United States’ nuclear arsenal that has been deployed to Europe, while France and Britain both play a deterrent role with their own nuclear weapons.
According to the defensive military alliance, a number of countries have contributed dual-capable aircraft to the mission “and are available at various levels of readiness.”
The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressing NATO partners to do more to support their own defense and to rely less on Washington.
