US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

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The US is getting ready to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in greater than a decade amid a rising threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads thrice as robust because the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based mostly at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, in line with Pentagon paperwork seen by the Daily Telegraph.

These set out plans for a “nuclear mission” to happen “imminently” on the base.

It comes amid growing warnings concerning the prospect of a warfare with Russia, itself a nuclear energy, from British and American army officers.

US nuclear missiles have been stored at RAF Lakenheath in the previous. But there have been eliminated them in 2008 at a time when it was thought of that the Cold War threat from Moscow had pale.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated: “It remains a longstanding UK and Nato policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.”

The paperwork additionally reveal procurement contracts for a brand new facility on the airbase.

The transfer is assumed to be a part of a programme throughout Nato international locations to develop and improve nuclear websites in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years in the past.

It comes as senior figures on each side of the Atlantic warn of a possible warfare between Nato forces and Russia.

Earlier this week, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing head of the British Army, floated the thought of a “citizen army” to fight the threat. He warned the 74,000 Army personnel the UK at present has would want to be bolstered by at the very least 45,000 reservists and residents to organize for doable battle.

In response, Downing Street dominated out any transfer in direction of conscription, saying that the armed forces would stay voluntary.

Carlos Del Toro, the US navy secretary, has additionally urged the UK to “reassess” the scale of its armed forces given “the threats that exist today”.

Downing Street defended the federal government’s spending on defence because it identified that Britain has been Washington’s “partner of choice” in its strikes towards Houthi rebels in the Red Sea due to its “military strength”.