The United States is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years as the threat from Russia increases, Pentagon documents seen by The Telegraph reveal.
Procurement contracts for a new facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk confirm that the US intends to place nuclear warheads three times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb at the air base.
The US removed nuclear missiles from the UK in 2008, judging that the Cold War threat from Moscow had diminished.
The disclosure comes in the wake of warnings that Nato countries need to ready their citizens for war with Russia.
Last week, Adml Rob Bauer, a senior Nato military official, said that private citizens should prepare for all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years that would require wholesale change in their lives.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the British Army, went on to warn that the public would need to be called up to fight if there was war with Russia because the Army was too small. His comments forced Downing Street to rule out conscription.
Boris Johnson on Friday night backed Sir Patrick’s call for a citizen army, as he pledged to sign up if the UK went to war with Russia.
The US navy secretary, Carlos Del Toro, then urged Britain to “reassess” the size of its armed forces. On Friday, No 10 defended the Government’s military spending, pointing out that “the UK is the second biggest defence spender in Nato and the largest in Europe”.
The return of American weapons to the UK is part of a Nato-wide programme to develop and upgrade nuclear sites in response to heightened tensions with the Kremlin in the wake of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has stated that the placement of US weapons in Britain would be viewed by Moscow as an “escalation” and would be met with “compensating counter-measures”.
As well as the conflict in Ukraine, the West is facing rising challenges from Iran and North Korea, which have both grown closer to Moscow in recent years.
On Friday, Britain, France and Germany condemned Iran for launching a new satellite to guide long-range missiles. Tehran is enriching uranium for possible use in developing nuclear weapons.
The US and UK have also been carrying out air strikes in the Red Sea against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Iran-backed militia which have been attacking container ships in purported retaliation for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
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, where nuclear weapons were stationed during the Cold War.
The Pentagon had refused to comment on speculation that a new “surety dormitory”, first revealed in budget documents last year, was intended for the base, which is run by the US Air Force under British regulations and laws, to allow the US to house tactical nuclear weapons that can be deployed by F-35 fighter jets.
The term “surety” is used by the Pentagon to refer to the need to keep nuclear weapons safe when they are not being used.
The documents show the Pentagon has ordered new equipment for the base, including ballistic shields designed to protect military personnel from attacks on “high value assets”. Construction on a new housing facility for American forces working on the site will begin in June.
