6 hours agoBritain to buy 12 American planes that can drop nuclear bombs
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will announce at the NATO summit in The Hague the purchase of 12 F-35A fighter aircraft capable of launching nuclear bombs. The move constitutes Britain's largest reinforcement and turns the Royal Air Force into an important role in the country's nuclear defense. F-35A are a variant [...]
F-35A is an advanced version of F-35B aircraft that Britain currently uses and will be based on RAF Marham. Each aircraft costs about 100 million pounds and is expected to be operational within the next one or two years. Unlike F-35B, Option A has greater capacity and longer rays, making them suitable for nuclear missions. The bombs they will carry will be American production.
This movement sets Britain for the first time after the Cold War as part of NATO's nuclear air mission. So far, the United Kingdom's nuclear capacity was based exclusively on the Royal Navy submarines, which are also under way with the construction of four new ones.
The British government is planning to buy up to 138 F-35 aircraft in the coming years, a programme expected to support over 20,000 jobs and more than 100 businesses in the United Kingdom. British companies like BAE Systems, Cobham and Rolls-Royce will play a role in their construction, though most will be produced in the US by Lockheed Martin. /Periscope/
