Washington [US], August 30: The US Air Force (USAF) has received a budget of 50 million USD for a project by 2024 at the British air base, which will pave the way for US nuclear weapons to return to British territory for the first time in more than 15 years.
Presenting to the US Congress the reason for building a 144-bed dormitory at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath (RAF) Lakenheath in Suffolk, USAF said the project was implemented to prepare for an increase in the number of troops at the time. carry out the "guarantee mission". This is a term commonly used by the Pentagon when referring to the handling of US nuclear weapons , according to The Guardian newspaper on August 30, citing experts.
Construction of the military dormitory began in June 2024 and lasted until February 2026. The project is the latest in a series of preparations for the return of American nuclear weapons to British territory.
Researcher Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) was the first to notice the budget proposal.
FAS previously said that, in the US defense budget of 2023, the UK was added to the list of recipients of infrastructure investment to prepare for storage sites of "special weapons" in Europe, outside next to Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
The FAS estimates that about 100 B61 nuclear gravity bombs are being planted in the five countries. The US has withdrawn nuclear weapons from Britain since 2007, but the facilities that once housed US nuclear weapons have only been abandoned, not cleared.
The US first brought nuclear weapons to Britain in 1954, at bases RAF Greenham Common, RAF Molesworth as well as RAF Lakenheath . At one point RAF Lakenheath had the capacity to hold up to 110 B61 gravity bombs .
The British nuclear force is made up entirely of submarine-launched Trident missiles, while the US maintains a deployable nuclear triangle at sea, in the air and on land.
While the US cruise missiles were withdrawn in 1991, the gravity bombs remained at RAF Lakenheath for at least the next 16 years before being removed from the country.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper