Activists fear prospect of nuclear war
A US airbase project could pave the way for the UK to redeploy US nuclear weapons on British soil. Activists fear this could be a step towards nuclear war.
The US Air Force has secured $50 million in funding next year for a project that could pave the way for the return of US nuclear weapons to British soil for the first time in more than 15 years.
According to The Guardian, while the RAF justified the cost of 144-bed dormitory at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, she told Congress that the building was intended to “accommodate increased” numbers of military personnel as a result of a potential “sponsorship” mission. , – which, in the jargon commonly used by the Pentagon, according to experts, indicates a connection with a nuclear weapon.
Construction of the dormitory, which is due to begin in June 2024 and run until February 2026, was the latest in a series of signs that preparations are underway for the possible return of US nuclear weapons to British soil.
Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) , who first reported the budget request, said: I noticed because it's a buzzword, a term commonly used in the Department of Defense and the nuclear weapons complex to mean positive control of nuclear weapons in a safe manner”.
Earlier, the Federation of American Scientists said that in the 2023 defense budget, the United Kingdom was added to the list of countries investing in the infrastructure of storage sites for “special weapons&dquo; in Europe, along with Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
FAS estimates that these five countries have about 100 B61 gravity bombs in stock. They were removed from the UK in 2007, but the bomb storage areas were preserved rather than dismantled.
US nuclear weapons were first deployed in the UK in 1954, notably at Greenham Common and Molesworth Air Force Base and at Lakenheath Air Force Base, which at one time had shelters to store up to 110 air-launched B61 nuclear bombs. p>
The UK's nuclear force consists entirely of submarine-launched Trident missiles, but the US maintains a “nuclear triad” of bombs that can be launched from sea, air and land. While the US cruise missiles were withdrawn in 1991, the gravity bombs were stored at Lakenheath for at least another 16 years before being removed.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment, writes The Guardian. A UK Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “It is long-standing UK and NATO policy not to confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons in a given location.”
If such weapons were to be located in the UK, it is likely to remain under military control by US control, The Guardian points out.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has called on Prime Minister Sunak to deny the United States the deployment of nuclear weapons on British soil once the modernization work at Lakenheath is complete.
Kate Hudson, the organisation's general secretary, said: “It is increasingly clear , that Lakenheath is once again a vital cog in Washington's overseas nuclear machine.” despite the British government's refusal to acknowledge this reality. She said their presence would make the UK a more likely target in any nuclear war.
Fears of nuclear conflict are at their highest level since the conflict in Ukraine began.
In 2021, the UK announced it would increase its own stockpile of Trident nuclear warheads by 40% to 260, the first such increase since the end of the Cold war and reflects growing Western concerns about Russia's intentions and China's growing capabilities.
< p>The B61 bombs were once considered obsolete by the US military, a holdover from the Cold War. But instead of until departure“ have been upgraded to extend their life and improve accuracy, writes The Guardian.
A new version, the B61-12, is expected to arrive in Europe this year. The new F-35A Lightning II fighters have been certified to operate with the upgraded bombs and the 495th Fighter Squadron based at RAF Lakenheath is set to become the first unit in Europe to receive the aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
< p>B Last November was C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft approved to carry B61-12 bombs, allowing for distribution to base storage locations in the US and Europe.
“All of this is pretty solid evidence that it is very possible that a nuclear mission could return to the UK,” says Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists.
In an interview in December 2021, two months before the Na At the start of the conflict in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “We have no plans to deploy any nuclear weapons in countries other than those we already have as part of our deterrence.” The statement does not necessarily rule out the UK, which has previously hosted B61 bombs.
It is not clear from the budget documents whether the UK is to be a permanent base for US nuclear weapons or a standby base in the event of a crisis, writes The Guardian.< /p >
Another possibility is that when older versions of the B61s are withdrawn from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, they will not be replaced by B61-12s due to longstanding concerns about the base's proximity to the Syrian border and Turkey's internal security following the 2016 coup attempt. in that case, new bombs could be placed at Lakenheath instead.