The United States has reportedly stationed several nuclear bombs in the United Kingdom for the first time since 2007, signaling a potential shift in NATO's nuclear strategy in Europe.
According to the UK Defence Journal, multiple sources confirm that several B61-12 tactical nuclear bombs have been transferred to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, marking the first return of U.S. nuclear weapons to British soil since their withdrawal in 2008. The warheads, previously stored at the U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center in Kirtland, New Mexico, are now housed in newly upgraded secure storage facilities at the British base.
The B61-12 is a modernized low-yield precision-guided nuclear bomb, deployable by F-35A stealth fighters from the base's 493rd and 495th Fighter Squadrons. While U.S. nuclear weapons were once routinely stationed at Lakenheath during the Cold War, their removal in 2008 aligned with broader European arms reduction efforts.
The move was foreshadowed in 2022 when U.S. budget documents revealed plans to upgrade nuclear storage sites in Europe. In January 2024, Pentagon files explicitly cited "growing threats from Russia" as justification for redeploying nuclear weapons to the UK. Analysts suggest this repositioning reflects a significant strategic recalibration within NATO's European theater.
Reports indicate the warheads destined for Lakenheath possess triple the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb. Additionally, British media revealed that Congress has approved $50 million in funding to construct dormitories at the base for personnel involved in "potential security missions."
Neither the U.S. Air Force nor the UK government has officially commented on the deployment.
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