Britain will need Trump's permission to use new nuclear bombs

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Britain will need permission from Donald Trump to deploy any tactical nuclear weapons from its new fighter jets.
The Government has agreed to purchase 12 F-35A fighter jets from the US, meaning British aircraft will carry nuclear warheads for the first time since the Cold War.
The Telegraph, however, understands that there is no intention for the UK to develop its own sovereign nuclear bomb capability and they will therefore have to purchase the B61-12 thermo bombs that the planes carry from the US.
Under Nato's nuclear sharing arrangements any of the US's B-61 weapons carried by Nato allies remain under US custody.
For a nuclear mission to be conducted by a Nato country approval must be granted by the alliance's Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) with final sign off from both the US president and British Prime Minister.
An RAF source asked why the UK could not have negotiated a deal which did not leave it so reliant on the US for permission to protect itself.
'This is good we are talking to Nato, but there is a question over whether the UK would like its own sovereign airborne capability,' he said. 'Can't they negotiate a new deal with the Americans which explores this?'
It has not been decided where the B-61 weapons purchased from the US would be based once on British soil.
The US is already planning to station nuclear weapons at its US air base, RAF Lakenheath, according to Pentagon documents.
Another possibility would be to house them at the neighbouring British base RAF Marham.
An RAF source added that from a UK perspective it made sense to store the weapons at a British base, as they will be British owned.
The last UK warplanes capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons were Tornados, which deployed the British-made WE177 nuclear bomb. This was retired in 1998 after the Iron Curtain had fallen and it was widely felt that Russia was no longer a threat.
Other sovereign bombs included the Blue Danube, the first UK-built nuclear deterrent, which was carried by V-bombers.
In 1956 a Vickers Valiant became the first RAF aircraft to drop the British atomic bomb during a test at the Maralinga range in Australia.
However, as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which strives for a world without nuclear weapons, the UK has not invested in its own tactical nuclear weapon arsenal since 1998.
Trident, the continuous at-sea deterrent, is the only nuclear weapon system operated by the UK that has a day-to-day operation independent of the US.
It consists of four Vanguard-class submarines which can carry up to 16 warheads each.
France's nuclear deterrent, which is believed to contain an estimated 300 nuclear weapons, under its 'force de dissuasion' programme, with sea and air-based launch capabilities, is also currently independent from Nato.
The US has long guaranteed Europe's safety with an arsenal of around 100 nuclear missiles, many of them stationed in a US military base in Germany.