UK Eyes Greater Nuclear Role in Europe Amid Doubts About US
(Bloomberg) -- The UK envisages taking an enhanced role in NATO's nuclear deterrence amid doubts surrounding the US commitment to the alliance, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledges to make Britain 'war-ready' to counter Russian aggression in Europe.
The government is exploring new capabilities such as fighter jets able to fire nuclear weapons as part of plans to boost Britain's nuclear contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing sensitive matters of national security.
That move would come in addition to the renewal of the UK's existing Trident deterrent, a £15 billion ($20 billion) investment in nuclear warheads and the construction of as many as 12 new submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership with Australia and the US. It's reflective of a wider sense of urgency among European leaders about the need to step up defense spending due to doubts about the US commitment to European defense under President Donald Trump's leadership.
Britain's investment in its nuclear deterrent and the wider European focus on the issue comes 'in the context of fears of diminished US commitment to provide nuclear deterrence to its allies,' William Alberque, senior fellow at the Pacific Forum in Berlin, said in a phone interview. 'It's to offset the risks of US detachment.'
Commencing discussions with the US on shouldering more of the burden of NATO's nuclear deterrent is one of the key recommendations in the government's Strategic Defence Review published Monday. The document set out plans for an overhaul of Britain's military to put it on a war-footing.
European nations are having to adjust to US President Donald Trump urging them to contribute more to their own security, a stance that has also prompted the continent to re-think how it approaches nuclear weapons.
Trump has demanded NATO members spend 5% of economic output on defense — more even than the US spends now, and up from the alliance's current 2% guideline. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, is proposing members spend at least 3.5% on core defense activities.
In March, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would open talks with European allies on extending France's nuclear umbrella over the continent, given concerns that the US would withdraw its protection. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has said he has had serious talks about Macron's proposal to use Paris's nuclear capabilities to defend Europe.
While the UK and France are the only nuclear powers among European members of NATO, Britain is the only country in Europe that currently assigns its capability to the defense of NATO.
Speaking ahead of the defense review's publication on Monday, Starmer said he was '100% committed' to Britain's nuclear deterrent and its future capability.
'There has been a sense that the balance between Europe and the US has to be reconsidered and there has to be a greater burden on Europe,' Starmer told BBC Radio on Monday, referring to NATO members. 'They have a point. We collectively need to step up.'
The defense review published Monday said Britain is 'well-placed' to take on a greater role providing deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic, and comes as the US confronts the 'unprecedented challenge of facing two near-peer nuclear powers, Russia and China.' The UK's Trident deterrent consists of four ballistic missile submarines, with at least one patrolling the seas undetected at all times.
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