British Fighter Jets per trasportare bombe nucleari

Britain wants to purchase fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons, in a major expansion of the deterrent intended to counter the growing threat posed by Russia.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is in highly sensitive talks over the move, which would represent the biggest development in the UK’s deterrent since the Cold War and a recognition that the world has entered a more dangerous nuclear era.

John Healey, the defence secretary, and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the armed forces, are looking to acquire American-made fighter jets capable of launching gravity bombs with lower power than conventional nukes.

Starmer has also given his backing and discussions with the Pentagon are believed to have taken place.

The prime minister is preparing to launch the strategic defence review on Monday from a UK dockyard. The review, while not committing specifically to air-launched capabilities, recommends the UK looks at expanding its contribution to Nato’s shared nuclear deterrence in Europe.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Healey refused to comment on the talks but acknowledged Britain must adapt to the “new era of threat” it faces.

The review also seeks to put Britain on a prewar footing, recommending sweeping proposals for rearmament and the revival of an “always-on” defence industry. Healey said: “The lesson from Ukraine … is that a country’s armed forces are only as strong as the industry that stands behind them.”
In other developments:

* The government will invest £6 billion on munitions to replenish UK stockpiles, with £1.5 billion earmarked for six new factories that will sustain 1,000 jobs.
* The review will commit to new defensive shields to protect Britain against enemy ballistic missiles.
* It recommends the re-establishment of a civilian home guard to protect national infrastructure.
* It backs a resurgence in shipbuilding, with the Royal Navy wanting to increase the number of destroyers and frigates to 25, up from 14 now.
* A new underwater surveillance programme, known as Atlantic Bastion and overseen by the navy, will guard against Russian sabotage of internet cables and energy pipelines.
* Healey will focus on fixing the armed forces recruitment crisis but is expected to set a longer-term target for increasing the size of the army.

Radakin, who is stepping down as chief of the defence staff in the autumn, is said to view the expansion of the nuclear deterrent as the UK’s biggest defence priority and, in private, has long argued for air-launched capabilities.

“The world is definitely becoming more dangerous. Nuclear risks are rising,” he said. “We face now, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, seriously increasing risks of state-on-state conflict.”

Simon Case, the former cabinet secretary and nuclear deterrent expert who stepped down as the country’s top civil servant in December, called on the government last week to invest in a second method of launching nuclear deterrent, in addition to the submarine-based missile system.

He told The General & the Journalist, a new podcast launched by The Times: “Deterrence depends on your adversary being certain that you can do real harm to them in the ultimate case. In my view you wouldn’t rely on a single system for anything. That’s true in many walks of life, let alone nuclear deterrence.”

Senior sources said the UK was looking at procuring Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning stealth fighter jet, which has recently been ordered by the German Luftwaffe, although other types of aircraft are thought to be under consideration.

The jets have a range of 1,400km, longer than other variants of the F-35, and can carry the B61 thermonuclear gravity bomb, the United States’s primary air-dropped bomb from its stockpile of 3,708 nuclear weapons. It has a yield of between 0.3 and 340 kilotons — the first nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, dubbed “Little Boy”, had 15 kilotons — and it expected the UK would carry these, rather than its own nuclear weapons, as part of Nato’s nuclear-sharing arrangements.

Britain previously maintained a stockpile of tactical nukes and a fleet of V-bomber aircraft but these were decommissioned after the Cold War as the UK shifted to the Vanguard submarine programme.

Britain is the only major nuclear power with only one platform from which to launch its nuclear arsenal. The US maintains a nuclear triad — able to launch from land, air and sea — while France, through its force de dissuasion, has both air and sea capability.

The aircraft would form a second pillar of the nuclear deterrent, and could be used in a scenario below all-out nuclear war. They could also be deployed on the battlefield — a capability the UK does not possess at present.

With President Putin repeatedly threatening nuclear escalation in recent years, there are growing concerns that Moscow could use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine or on Nato’s eastern front. While the latter would almost certainly provoke conflict with Nato under Article 5 — an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all — it is unclear whether a limited tactical nuclear strike by Russia would provoke a full nuclear retaliation.

Britain’s military chiefs now believe the UK must be able to wield more tactical nuclear capabilities to deter Putin.
While lower-yield bombs can be launched from British submarines, there are concerns that in such a scenario the Russians or other enemies would not be able to distinguish between tactical nukes and conventional warheads capable of obliterating cities. This miscalculation could tip the world into a full-blown nuclear war.

Instead, having a two-tier nuclear deterrent would mean the UK and its European allies would be able to deliver a clear and limited response to any Russian attack.

In a wide-ranging interview, Healey said the review would ensure Britain was better prepared and would place homeland security, and rearmament, front and centre.

“First and foremost, I wanted Britain to recognise how the world was changing, and then … hardwire that into the way that as a nation we developed and directed our defence and security,” he said.

Seems likely that Western European defense spending is going to surpass the US in the next few years. Good news imo

Well; in the early 2000’s after having studied in depth the industrial rearmament and planning at the eve of WWII I wondered how we would handle this again.

Every time i read about Blair and all the following PMs wrecking the british military and industry so that his pals could buy more Rolls Royces i thought damn they’ll never recover from it, they’re basically getting rid of know how that very few countries can afford and which can’t be regained easily once lost.

The odds that the UK can revamp its nuclear deterrence before the war breaks out is very low. That’s a multi decade thing. And the UK would probably have to get to 5%

Nothing new or special. The wiring and arming is not complicated. The B29s using vacuum tubes carried them just fine.