{"id":1544010,"date":"2025-06-27T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1544010"},"modified":"2025-06-27T06:45:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T10:45:00","slug":"uk-to-buy-us-f-35s-as-starmer-signals-nato-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/uk-to-buy-us-f-35s-as-starmer-signals-nato-commitment\/1544010\/","title":{"rendered":"UK To Buy US F-35s As Starmer Signals NATO Commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK To Buy US F-35s As Starmer Signals NATO Commitment<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The UK will purchase at least 12 U.S.-made F-35A stealth fighter jets, restoring the Royal Air Force\u2019s nuclear strike capability for the first time since 1998, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the move ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, in a move widely seen as both a gesture to President Donald Trump and a step to reinforce Europe’s defense amid doubts about long-term American security guarantees.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to get relatively close to targets in order to drop it,\u201d said Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at RUSI, referring to the B61-12 tactical nuclear bomb the F-35A was certified to carry in 2023. \u201cIf the RAF is to be given a free-fall nuclear capability as part of the beefed-up deterrent plans, the F-35A is the only choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defense Secretary John Healey emphasized that this is not a new weapons program, but a reinforcement of NATO\u2019s nuclear mission. \u201cWe\u2019re facing increasing threats, we\u2019re facing rising nuclear risks,\u201d he told Sky News. \u201cThis is not the UK taking on a new nuclear weapon, it\u2019s playing a part in the established nuclear mission in NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under current arrangements, the U.S. would retain control over the nuclear bombs, and any deployment would require joint authorization by the U.S. and NATO\u2019s top commander.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u00a33.2 billion ($4.4 billion) purchase will include 27 aircraft by decade\u2019s end, replacing more costly short-takeoff versions and supporting 20,000 UK jobs. \u201cThese planes will save money,\u201d said defense procurement minister Maria Eagle, explaining that the UK will host 15% of the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg writes<\/a> that the announcement comes as NATO is expected to adopt a bold new defense spending target of 5% of GDP, aimed at appeasing Trump\u2019s long-standing criticism of European underinvestment in defense.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s move reflects broader European anxiety over Trump\u2019s wavering commitment to NATO\u2019s Article 5, the alliance\u2019s mutual defense clause. With Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine ongoing and fears growing about President Vladimir Putin\u2019s intentions, the UK is renewing its broader nuclear deterrent. This includes \u00a315 billion ($20.4 billion) in new nuclear warheads and up to 12 nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS pact with the U.S. and Australia.<\/p>\n

While most MPs backed the move, critics\u2014including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn\u2014warned it undermines nuclear non-proliferation commitments. Eagle dismissed the concerns, saying the UK was \u201cestablishing a way to use another state\u2019s nuclear weapons to support an existing mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s strategy is to present the UK as a serious NATO contributor while courting a U.S. president known to reward big defense deals. However, Trump has so far offered little in return\u2014ignoring EU calls for stronger sanctions on Russia and launching airstrikes on Iran despite European objections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nFri, 06\/27\/2025 – 02:45<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/uk-buy-us-f-35s-starmer-signals-nato-commitment<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK To Buy US F-35s As Starmer Signals NATO Commitment The UK will purchase at least 12 U.S.-made F-35A stealth fighter jets, restoring the Royal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1544011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1544010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1544011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1544010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}