US to station nuclear weapons at RAF base, says report
America is reportedly planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK in response to the growing threat from Russia.
They would be kept at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals - which are detailed in The Telegraph.
It says Pentagon documents reveal contracts for a new facility and "show the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base".
The paper says it would be the first time in 15 years that America has stationed nuclear weapons in the UK.
"Unredacted documents on the US department of defence’s procurement database reveal plans for a 'nuclear mission' that will take place 'imminently' at RAF Lakenheath", reports The Telegraph.
The nuclear weapons that could be located at the base are reported to be B61-12 gravity bombs, which can be deployed from fighter jets.
The Telegraph says it's part of a NATO programme to "develop and upgrade nuclear sites" in the wake of Russia's invasion.
Responding to the report, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "It remains a longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location."
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Haya ndio majibu ya anachotaka kufanya Uncle Sam.
Move nuclear weapons closer to US – Russian MP
Aleksey Zhuravlev has suggested that Moscow should deploy missiles in “friendly” countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua
Move nuclear weapons closer to US – Russian MP
First deputy chairman of Russia's parliamentary defense committee Alexey Zhuravlev. © RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko
Russia should place its nuclear weapons in “friendly countries” near the US in response to Washington’s alleged plans to move its own tactical arms to Europe, lawmaker Aleksey Zhuravlev has suggested.
His comments came after The Telegraph reported on Saturday that the US is looking to deploy its nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years, in order to counter a supposedly increased threat from Russia.
In a post on Telegram, Zhuravlev, who is first deputy chairman of the Russian parliamentary defense committee and leader of the Rodina (Motherland) party, pointed out that Britain has its own nuclear weapons, and that the US has already deployed part of its atomic arsenal to several European countries close to Russia.
“Therefore, it’s unlikely that additional deployment [of nuclear weapons to the UK] would have an effect on the military-political landscape,” Zhuravlev surmised.
Nevertheless, the politician suggested that Moscow should consider deploying its own nuclear weapons closer to the US and send them to “friendly countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.”
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Zhuravlev admitted, however, that weapons systems have made a big leap in the years since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. “Russian hypersonic missiles launched from our territory would reach the US faster than subsonic ones launched from the American underbelly,” the MP wrote.
He also pointed out that Russia has strategic aviation as well as a vast arsenal of submarines stationed in unknown locations around the world’s oceans.
“We have ways to respond to any encroachments by the US and NATO, which it controls,” Zhuravlev said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously warned that Moscow would be forced to enact “compensatory countermeasures” in the event that American nuclear warheads return to Britain. Russia has also repeatedly accused the West of fueling tensions in Europe, and has cited NATO’s continued eastward expansion as one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict.