UK's £85m super-deadly F35A warplanes that can carry nuclear weapons will dominate skies

Britain's multi-billion expansion into being able to carry nuclear weapons on brand new F35A fighter jets could ward off threats from multiple hostile states in the future. Or they can be more conventionally armed, used as super-deadly warplanes, screaming into combat in support of UK ground troops, taking out enemy jets or attacking military targets.

The fifth generation £85m warplanes will compliment the UK’s F3B’s that are the “punching power” of the Royal Navy’s £3.5bn aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales. But the F35A’s will be more versatile, more deadly and agile in the air as they operate by taking off from conventional runways land and have far greater ability to fly distances in defending British interests.

The new move means the UK will have a more versatile and potent nuclear defence system than ever before, protecting the UK in the air and also at sea. And the UK government calculates that they are needed as it means they can help other NATO allies with a nuclear deterrence and boost Britain’s power in the alliance.

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This all comes during the NATO summit where European allied leaders are hoping to pin down US President Donald Trump into committing to Article Five. It comes amid warnings that Russia may expand its war in Ukraine, attacking a European ally, China is muscle-flexing and the two have relationships with North Korea and Iran.

This crucial Article Five agreement is an “attack one, attack all” deal meaning if a hostile state assaults one NATO ally then it is an act of war against the entire alliance. The article has been invoked only once in the 70-year history of the Alliance: in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

But it is the cornerstone of the NATO alliance. Though capable of carrying nuclear weapons the 12 new F35A’s will be on standby to defend the UK and perhaps go to war with conventional weapons.

The UK has had nuclear weapons since the early 1950’s as the Cold War threat from post WWII conflict Russia escalated tensions across the globe. We were the third country to acquire nuclear weapons, behind the US and the Soviet Union.

Crucially the UK has always stated the weapons, now Trident Missilesfired from one of four submarines, exist under a strict “no first use policy.” That means the nukes can only be fired in an act of defence in reaction to an enemy country letting loose an atom missile as the UK or its interests.

Operations of our nuclear-armed Vanguard Class Submarinesmean one of the beasts is lurking beneath the waves at a top secret location constantly. But it does mean that the UK’s enemies know that it constantly has a deadly sub on standby to react to nuclear attack if a rogue state presses the nuclear button.

The deterrence means an enemy attacking the UK with a nuclear weaponknows it could be obliterated in response by a submarine probably nowhere near the UK. The operations carried out by our Vanguard Submarines are top secret to give the UK an edge over enemies and prevent a pre-emptive attack on them.

The RAF says: “The F-35A aircraft will be available to fly NATO’s nuclear mission in a crisis, deepening the UK’s contribution to NATO’s nuclear burden-sharing arrangements, and deter those who would do the UK and our Allies harm. It reintroduces a nuclear role for the RAF for the first time since the UK retired its sovereign air-launched nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War.

“This complements the UK’s own operationally independent nuclear deterrent, strengthens NATO’s nuclear deterrence, and underlines the UK’s unshakeable commitment to NATO and the principle of collective defence under Article Five.”

Here we detail Britain’s current secretive nuclear deterrence operation, delving into some of its history, its future and looking at how it will in future protect the UK.

The F35A fighter jet

The new warplane is immensely potent and travels a greater distance than its F35B cousin since it uses conventional runways. The F35B is a STOVL plane, meaning Short Take Off Vertical Landing as it takes off and returns to an aircraft carrier.

The F35B uses so much power taking off and landing that it has limited range of just 900 miles - or roughly just under the length of Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats. But the F35A has a range of 1,200 miles, giving it an extra edge since it does not use as much power in take-off and landing. It can fly conventional and nuclear weapons.

Our nuclear-armed Vanguard fleet

The UK’s Vanguard-Class subs are led by HMS Vanguard and include Victorious, Vigilant, and Vengeance, each capable of carrying up to 16 missiles each. These submarines are also nuclear-powered and can stay beneath the waves, fully operational for many months. At least one is on patrol somewhere in the world ’s oceans at any one time.

The Vanguards have a crew of 130 officers and sailors. The submarines operate with two separate crews, Port and Starboard, to ensure continuous patrols. While one crew is on patrol, the other is either training or on leave. The crew size is smaller compared to the older Resolution-class submarines they replaced, despite the Vanguard-class being larger.

They will be replaced at some stage by the new Dreadnought-Class submarines which will also carry US-made Trident weapons. According to the MoD four new Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines will be ready in the 2030s and were first announced in 2015. They will take over duty as part of Britain’s operation Continuous at Sea Deterrence.

The UK's nuclear weapons

The UK has around 225 nuclear warheads and the Vanguard Submarines carries around 16 Trident II D5 nuclear missiles. Each missile can carry up to eight warheads, which means each missile can unleash on eight targets in mid-air. Interestingly the Vanguards also carry Spearfish Torpedoes to be used to defend itself against other enemy submarines and surface warships.

Around 150 nuclear weapons are ready for operations and the rest are held in reserve. Our Trident missiles have a strength or yield of 100 kilotons - eight times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. The Trident missiles are US made, US maintained and the UK leases them from America.

Britain’s new fighter F35A jets will, if needed, be armed with American-made B61 gravity bombs. These are low-to-intermediate yield strategic and tactical nuclear weapons so they can be used for massive blasts or local, smaller, blasts used on the battlefield to help friendly forces. They can have a yield of from 0.3 to 340 kilotons in its various modes.