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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Aletha Adu, Dan Sabbagh and Kiran Stacey

UK to expand nuclear deterrent with US fighter jets capable of carrying warheads

A Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet in flight
A Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet seen at the 55th international Paris airshow at Le Bourget airport on 16 June 2025. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

The UK is to substantially expand its nuclear deterrent by buying a squadron of American-made fighter jets that are capable of delivering US tactical warheads that are likely to be stored on British soil.

The announcement by Keir Starmer at the Nato summit marks the most significant change in Britain’s nuclear posture since the end of the cold war, with US bombs set to return to the UK, and is bound to provoke alarm among arms control experts and campaigners.

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