Almost a month after the British government confirmed the purchase of a batch of twelve F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the United States has reportedly deployed B61-12 nuclear bombs to the United Kingdom, marking the first time such a deployment has occurred in over a decade. According to open-source intelligence (OSINT) reports, the nuclear bombs were allegedly transferred from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, where one of the newly built secure storage sites for this type of weapon is located in the British Isles.
The development has not been officially confirmed by either London or Washington, although nuclear deterrence—and more specifically, the locations where nuclear weapons are stored—remains a matter over which the UK Ministry of Defence traditionally maintains strict secrecy. Nevertheless, the potential deployment aligns with recent analyses surrounding the aforementioned acquisition of F-35 aircraft by the UK, which had already pointed to the return of nuclear bombs to the Royal Air Force’s arsenals and had identified RAF Lakenheath as one of the two most likely storage sites, the other being RAF Marham.
It is worth recalling that the UK has not had its own nuclear bombs for aircraft since 1998, when the WE.177 bombs were retired. Furthermore, in 2008, the UK ceased being a deployment site for U.S. nuclear weapons as part of a broader trend of disarmament in Europe, leaving the country with only submarine-launched missiles as the cornerstone of its nuclear deterrence capabilities.
Although the news remains unconfirmed, it is useful to note that B61-12 bombs are low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, programmable in terms of explosive power and equipped with precision guidance systems. They can be deployed from various platforms, but given the assets based at RAF Lakenheath, it is likely they will be assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters stationed there, specifically those operated by the 493rd and 495th Fighter Squadrons of the 48th Fighter Wing.
*Images used for illustrative purposes only.
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