Iryna Nesterova17:52, 21.07.25

Several B61-12 bombs were placed in a newly constructed secure storage facility at Lakenheath Air Base.

For the first time since at least 2008, the United States has deployed nuclear weapons on British soil, the UK Defence Journal reports, citing “multiple sources”.

It is noted that several B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs were transferred this week from the US Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to Lakenheath Air Force Base in Suffolk County. The article says that they were placed in a newly constructed secure storage facility.

The US Department of Defense, as well as the UK Ministry of Defense, did not comment on this event, the material states.

The B61-12 is a modernized, low-yield tactical nuclear bomb capable of variable yield and precision guidance. It is designed to be compatible with a number of delivery platforms, including the F-35A Lightning II.Read also:

The publication recalled that the British base at Lakenheath housed American nuclear arsenals during the Cold War, but in 2008 they were removed in connection with disarmament throughout Europe.

“The return of such weapons marks a significant shift in NATO’s nuclear posture in the European theater of operations amid deteriorating relations with Russia and an increased emphasis on deterrence,” the material says.

Nuclear weapons in Europe against the backdrop of the threat of Russian aggression

As UNIAN previously reported, Britain wants to buy F-35s from the US along with nuclear bombs. According to The Times, British Defense Minister John Healy and Chief of Staff Tony Radakin want to buy American-made fighters capable of launching free-falling bombs, which are slightly weaker than conventional nuclear bombs. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly agreed to this, and the British government has begun “very delicate negotiations” on this issue.

We also wrote that Europe is returning to nuclear defense . Former British army officer Hamish De Bretton-Gordon believes that the most important result of French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to London was the creation of a joint Franco-British nuclear weapons alliance. According to the author, this event should signal to Putin that France’s tactical nuclear weapons will be directed at his army if he uses his own nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

In Germany, the issue of a common “nuclear umbrella” for the whole of Europe was also raised. In particular, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) faction in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, stated that Germany, against the background of the threat of Russian aggression, should gain access to the nuclear arsenal of France and Great Britain. According to the politician, this would cost a lot of money, “but those who want protection must also finance it.” He also called for a debate “on an independent European nuclear umbrella.”

(C)UNIAN 2025