UK to purchase fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons
FILE PHOTO: A Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet performs during an exhibition flight at the 55th International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
THE HAGUE - The British government said on Tuesday that it would purchase a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons in what it described as the biggest expansion of its nuclear deterrent in a generation.
The purchase of the Lockheed Martin jets would allow Britain's air force to carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Downing Street said.
"In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted, which is why my government is investing in our national security," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Britain is increasing defence spending and upgrading its military forces, including its submarine fleet, as it faces increasing hostility from Russia and as the United States retrenches from its traditional role as a defender of European security.
The British government said the purchase of the jets would allow it to contribute so-called dual-capable aircraft to NATO to carry nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said "this is yet another robust British contribution to NATO".
Britain's nuclear deterrent currently rests solely on the Trident submarine-based system, which misfired during a test last year, the second successive test failure after one veered off course in 2016.
The last time Britain possessed an independent air-launched nuclear capability was in 1998 when the WE-177 free fall bomb was withdrawn from service, according to Britain's parliament.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic weapons designed to be fired across vast distances.
By purchasing the F-35A fighter jets, Britain would be able to diversify its military options and align more closely with NATO allies such as France, and the United States, which maintains land, sea, and air-based nuclear capabilities.
The F-35A fighter jets are capable of carrying U.S. B61 tactical nuclear weapons. Britain would likely need the United States to supply those weapons for use on the planes, said one British official who declined to be named.
The United States withdrew its last nuclear weapons from Britain in 2008, in a sign at that time that the threat of conflict following the end of the Cold War was receding.
Downing Street said buying the new jets would support about 20,000 jobs in Britain and underline its commitment to NATO.
The government has pledged to boost overall defence and security spending to 5% of economic output by 2035 to meet a NATO target and said on Tuesday it must "actively prepare" for war at home for the first time in years. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
China calls CIA videos ‘absurd' attempt to recruit spies
The CIA videos are supposedly aimed at recruiting Chinese officials to help the US. PHOTO: REUTERS BEIJING - Beijing accused the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on June 25 of making an 'absurd' attempt to recruit Chinese citizens via videos posted on social media. China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) said the placement of what amounted to job advertisements on social media platform X was an 'amateurish gambit' to convince people to spy for the Americans. 'These two painstakingly crafted 'job ads ', riddled with clumsy rhetoric and slanderous claims, lay bare the absurd logic and paranoid delusions of American intelligence agencies,' the ministry said in a statement posted on its official WeChat account. 'Once again, the self-proclaimed 'world's top intelligence power' has turned itself into an international laughingstock through its baffling incompetence,' it added. CIA director John Ratcliffe said that the videos, posted in May 2025 and implored the sharing of state secrets – were aimed at 'recruiting Chinese officials to help the US'. Beijing condemned the posts at the time as 'naked political provocation'. The MSS vowed on June 25 to 'resolutely protect the nation's strategic interests and core secrets'. It warned the CIA that 'any attempt to incite betrayal among the Chinese people is doomed to fail, and any plot to infiltrate China for intelligence will prove futile'. The intelligence agency's diatribe was among the top trending items on China's X-like Weibo platform on June 25 , with users mocking the alleged job ads. 'Can we organise a group of scammers to carry out a telecom fraud against the CIA? We can trick the US and make a little money at the same time,' one wrote. The US and China have long traded accusations of espionage. In April , security officials said they had implicated three US 'secret agents' in cyberattacks during the Feb 2025 Asian Winter Games in the north-eastern city of Harbin. The MSS said in March it had sentenced to death a former engineer for leaking state secrets to a foreign power. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
China, Taiwan clash over history, Beijing says can't ‘invade' what is already Chinese territory
Tensions have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on threats to take Taiwan by force. PHOTO: REUTERS China, Taiwan clash over history, Beijing says can't 'invade' what is already Chinese territory BEIJING/TAIPEI - China and Taiwan clashed over their competing interpretations of history in an escalating war of words over what Beijing views as provocations from Taiwan's government, and said it is impossible to 'invade' what is already Chinese land. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure over the past five years. China has a special dislike of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, calling him a 'separatist'. Mr Lai has since June 22 given two speeches in what will be a series of 10 on 'uniting the country', saying that Taiwan is 'of course a country' and China has no legal or historical right to claim it. Speaking on June 25 at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said any 'independence provocations' from Mr Lai and his administration will face 'resolute countermeasures'. 'Though the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been fully reunified, the historical and legal fact that compatriots on both sides belong to one China and that both sides' compatriots are Chinese has never changed,' she said. Tensions between China and Taiwan, including several rounds of Chinese war games, have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on threats to take Taiwan by force which could ignite a regional war. China's last war games were in April, and its air force and navy operate around Taiwan on a daily basis, sometimes using dozens of warplanes, according to the island's defence ministry. Asked about US comments on Chinese drills strengthening preparations for an attack, Ms Zhu corrected the reporter. 'Taiwan is a part of China; there is no invasion to speak of,' she said. Mr Lai takes a different view on Taiwan's status and future. In a speech late on June 24, he said Taiwan's future can only be decided by its people, democratically, not by a decision by any party or president, and that 'Taiwan independence' refers to the island not being a part of the People's Republic of China. The defeated Republic of China, founded after the 1911 revolution that brought down the last emperor, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. 'How old is the Republic of China? It's 113 years old, and will be 114 years old this year. The People's Republic of China? It's only some 70 years old, right? It's simple and clear,' Mr Lai said. This year's 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is another sensitive topic, and China has invited old soldiers who fought for the Republic of China to a military parade in Beijing in early September. Taiwan does not want them to attend, and on June 25, Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo said Beijing was trying to distort history. 'The war of resistance was led and won by the Republic of China, not the People's Republic of China - this is without a doubt,' he told reporters at Parliament. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia still on alert despite Iran-Israel ceasefire
Despite no casualties from Iran's attack, airspace in the region was closed for a few hours on June 24 PHOTO: ARASH KHAMOOSHI/NYTIMES Follow our live coverage here. JAKARTA - Fears of an escalation in the conflict between Iran and Israel persist despite claims of a ceasefire between the two countries, with the Indonesian government expediting contingency planning as it finishes its first round of the evacuation of Indonesian nationals from the affected region. Hours before Iran and Israel agreed a ceasefire, Iran fired missiles at the Al Udeid air force base in Doha, Qatar on June 23 as a retaliation against the United States' bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. The attack did not result in any casualties, as Iran had warned Qatar prior to the attack, as reported by Reuters. Despite no casualties from Iran's attack, airspace in the region was closed for a few hours on June 24, including that over Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, with a slew of airlines canceling their flights to the region, AFP reported. Among the flights affected was the one by Qatar Airways booked for at least 29 Indonesian nationals, the first batch of evacuees from Iran who fled the country through a 16-hour land trip to neighboring Azerbaijan. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry told reporters on June 24 that the evacuees would instead return to Jakarta on a Turkish Airlines flight, arriving more than two hours later than the initial schedule at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. The ministry went on to say that it continued to 'monitor from a close range the escalation in the conflict between Israel, the US and Iran'. 'The ministry appeals to its citizens currently in the Middle East to increase their vigilance [and] avoid locations hosting assets of conflicting nations,' said the Indonesian ministry's citizen protection director Judha Nugraha in a statement. Prepare for the worst The renewed appeal for heightened alertness came despite US President Donald Trump's announcement that he had successfully negotiated a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. But less than 12 hours after the announcement, both countries threw accusations at each other that they had violated the deal and continued attacking each other beyond the agreed time the ceasefire was meant to start. All Indonesian representatives and embassies in Middle Eastern countries continue to be on high alert and on standby despite the ceasefire announcement in anticipation of any possible further escalation in the region, said Indonesia's Foreign Ministry director for Middle Eastern affairs Ahrul Tsani. 'Our representatives continue to monitor and remain responsive to any developments occurring, especially those in countries with US military bases,' Mr Ahrul told The Jakarta Post on June 24, listing countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq. Several Indonesian embassies in the listed high-alert countries have also begun circulating alert notices to citizens outlining responses to possible escalations, including calls to start packing important documents such as passports and employment contracts. Close call As officials call for calm amid the rising tensions, the Indonesian diaspora in the Middle East has been unnerved by the recent attacks. Mr Achmad, 42, was working in a restaurant in Doha when he suddenly felt the reverberation from an explosion at the Al Udeid base, located only about 30 minutes' drive from the Qatari capital. Panicking restaurant guests fled the restaurant after the explosion was felt. Qatari officials tried to calm down people by telling them not to panic or escalate things, said Mr Achmad. 'But I'm honestly worried. I saw with my own two eyes a missile being intercepted. I can't even describe the sound it created,' Mr Achmad told the Post on June 24. 'I'm just letting things be for now. I'm still breathing and standing. I just hope that there won't be any second wave of attacks. I won't know what to do in that case,' he said, explaining that he would lose his job in Doha if he were to be evacuated back to Indonesia. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry previously said that all evacuations of Indonesians from Iran and Israel would be voluntary rather than mandatory. The government has not issued any official diplomatic statement on the Iran-Israel conflict following Washington's decision to intervene on June 22, although its senior security ministry has called for all parties to return to the negotiating table. On June 22, Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto held a meeting with several ministers, including Jndonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, in his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor regency, West Java. The discussions revolved primarily around 'the dynamics of current global conditions and its effects on Indonesia's national interests', the State Secretariat wrote in a statement. The officials also discussed preparations for 'strategic steps' to protect national interests during the closed-door talks. THE JAKARTA POST/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
