Britain will purchase at least a dozen new F35A fighter jets, reintroducing a nuclear role for the Royal Air Force for the first time since the Cold War.
The decision to purchase the jets marks a major ramping up of Britain’s nuclear capabilities in the face of escalating global instability and comes alongside the UK’s decision to join Nato’s dual-capable aircraft nuclear mission – an aircraft sharing agreement among Nato allies.
Sir Keir Starmer will use a press conference at Wednesday’s Nato summit in the Hague to announce plans to purchase the aircraft, which can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons.
The purchase has been hailed by ministers as the “biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation”.
The Royal Air Force has not held a nuclear role since the UK retired its sovereign air-launched nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War.
Announcing the purchase of the jets, Sir Keir warned that Britain can “no longer take peace for granted” in an “era of radical uncertainty”.
“Supporting 100 businesses across the country and more than 20,000 jobs, these F35 dual-capable aircraft will herald a new era for our world-leading Royal Air Force and deter hostile threats that threaten the UK and our allies.
“The UK’s commitment to Nato is unquestionable, as is the alliance’s contribution to keeping the UK safe and secure, but we must all step up to protect the Euro-Atlantic area for generations to come,” he added.
It comes after a major new government review warned that the UK must prepare for the possibility of a “wartime scenario” on home soil.
The National Security Strategy, published on Tuesday, issued the grim warning as events in the Middle East and Russia’s war with Ukraine continue to add to international instability.
The government said the purchase of the jets would support 20,000 jobs, noting that 15 per cent of the global supply chain for the aircraft is based in Britain.
The new fast jets will be based at RAF Marham, in Norfolk, with the government expected to buy 138 F35s over the lifetime of the programme.
The purchase of 12 F35A rather than 12 F35B as part of the next procurement package will save taxpayers 25 per cent per aircraft, the Ministry of Defence said.
The UK will deploy the jets as part of Nato’s nuclear Dual Capable Aircraft mission – an aircraft sharing agreement which Britain was previously not a part of.
It comes just a day after Sir Keir announced he intends to commit the UK to 5 per cent of GDP spending on defence and national security.
But there are growing questions over how such a pledge will be funded, with experts estimating it will cost more than £30bn.
Paul Johnson, director of the influential Institute of Fiscal Studies, warned that the money could only come from tax increases, "because in the end there's nowhere else it can come from".
Just three weeks ago, ministers struggled to explain how Britain would reach a target of 3 per cent defence spending by 2034 – casting doubt over the fresh target of 5 per cent.
Speaking to journalists on the plane to the Nato summit, the prime minister pointed to current manifesto pledges which commit the government to no tax rises for working people.
But any tax hikes to fund the 2035 pledge would be likely to come after the next election in 2029, which will see Labour campaign on an entirely separate manifesto, meaning current commitments will no longer apply.
Asked whether he plans to raise taxes to pay for the pledge, Sir Keir said: “Every time we’ve set out our defence spending commitments, so when we went to 2.5 per cent in 2027-28, we set out precisely how we would pay for it, that didn’t involve tax rises. Clearly, we’ve got commitments in our manifesto about not making tax rises on working people and we will stick to our manifesto commitments.”
The prime minister’s remarks also saw him insist that Donald Trump is still a “close ally” – just minutes before the US president declined to commit to Nato's Article 5, which requires members to defend each other from attack.
Asked if he would commit to the mutual defence clause of Nato, Mr Trump responded that it “depends on your definition” of Article 5.
“There’s numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right? But I’m committed to being their friends, you know, I’ve become friends with many of those leaders, and I’m committed to helping them,” the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
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