At the request of the Biden government for the 2023 defense budget, the United Kingdom was added to the list of countries where infrastructure investments are made in “special weapons” storage facilities, along with Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. all countries where the US stores about 100 B61 nuclear bombs. Hans Christensen, director of the FAS program’s nuclear intelligence program, who was the first to mention the budget line, said he believed the upgraded British location was the US air base at RAF Lakenheath, 100 km south of London. . The United States withdrew its B61 ammunition from Lakenheath in 2008, marking the end of more than half a century of maintaining a US nuclear stockpile in the United Kingdom. At the time of the withdrawal, gravity bombs were widely regarded as militarily obsolete, and hopes for further disarmament by nuclear weapons were high. This optimism has since been dashed in the context of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the nuclear threats posed by his regime against NATO, and the extensive nuclear weapons modernization programs pursued by both the United States and Russia. As part of the US plan, the B61 breathed new life into a guidance system, the B61-12 variant, which is expected to go into full production in May. The 2023 budget request states that NATO “is completing a 13-year $ 384 million infrastructure investment program in storage facilities in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Turkey to upgrade security measures.” communication systems and facilities “. . In the 1990s, RAF Lakenheath had 33 underground storage facilities, where 110 B61 bombs were stored, according to the FAS. Since their withdrawal, the treasuries have been naphthalene. Kristensen said he believes the vaults are now being upgraded so that new B61-12 bombs can be stored there if needed. The Biden administration has been careful not to make moves that could be considered escalating in the nuclear arena in response to Putin’s announcement that he would put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert a few days after his invasion of Ukraine. The United States has canceled scheduled tests of its intercontinental ballistic missiles, for example. For the same reason, Christensen said he doubted the Biden administration was planning to increase US nuclear stockpiles in Europe. When the new B61-12 bombs are delivered, expected next year, they will replace the older models that already exist. Instead, he thought the Lakenheath upgrade was intended to provide more flexibility in moving nuclear weapons across Europe. “One of the things they’ve talked about is protecting the deterrent system from Russia’s improved cruise missile capabilities,” Christensen said. “So they could try to boost the readiness of more sites without necessarily taking nuclear weapons, so that they have the options to move things in case of emergency, if necessary.” Britain has been keen to play a more assertive role in its own nuclear deterrent, and last year announced it would increase its own Trident nuclear warhead stock by 40% to 260, the first such increase since the end of the Cold War. Whitehall sources say the UK has a “clearer assessment” of its role as a nuclear weapons state in a renewed era of state competition with Russia and China. The UK Department of Defense did not comment on the upgrade mentioned in the US budget. A British official said: “We will not provide anything for this as it relates to the storage of nuclear weapons.” But the news comes just four months after the arrival in Lakenheath of the first of a new generation of US nuclear-powered fighter jets, the F-35A Lightning II, the first such development in Europe. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Union, said the upgrade of the UK’s storage facilities was “an early sign that the US and NATO are preparing to engage in a protracted and possibly escalating confrontation with Putin’s Russia”. “The government should provide some clarity on the military necessity and objectives of a possible return of nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom,” Kimball added. Developments in Europe are part of a wider recession from arms control. The review of the Biden administration’s nuclear stance, which has been sent to Congress but has not yet been declassified, reportedly does not contain the changes promised by the president during his campaign. In 2020, he said he would formally state that the sole purpose of nuclear weapons is to prevent a nuclear attack on the United States or its allies. However, the review leaves open the option of using nuclear weapons to respond to non-nuclear threats as well. The nuclear disarmament group CND said the US “quiet announcement” was tantamount to more militarization at a time of growing danger and would add to the dangers facing the British public. Kate Hudson, the CND secretary general, said she feared it could lead to the relocation of US heads to the UK. “Nuclear weapons do not make us safe – they target us,” he added.
