"US Plans to Redeploy Nuclear Weapons to UK Territory for the First Time in 15 Years"

The Times, a British daily newspaper, reported on the 27th (local time) that the United States plans to redeploy nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom for the first time in 15 years. According to the report, the U.S. is currently carrying out facility improvement work at RAF Lakenheath, located in Suffolk, southeastern England, for this purpose.

A document obtained by the British Telegraph from the U.S. Department of Defense procurement website included information that the Department of Defense ordered equipment such as bulletproof shields necessary for the base to protect "high-value assets." Construction of new barracks for U.S. troops at RAF Lakenheath is scheduled to begin in June. The document also includes plans to build accommodations with 144 beds to house the increasing number of soldiers due to the "potential assurance mission." The assurance mission is known as a term within the U.S. Department of Defense referring to nuclear weapons management.

A U.S. Department of Defense document released in November last year stated that the UK was added to the list of previous nuclear weapons storage sites. Department of Defense officials confirmed that RAF Lakenheath is being upgraded but declined to comment on whether a decision has been made to station air-launched nuclear bombs at the base.

RAF Lakenheath is home to U.S. F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters capable of carrying nuclear bombs. If RAF Lakenheath becomes a nuclear weapons base again, The Times predicted that the U.S. would deploy the upgraded version of the nuclear gravity bombs (B61-12) that were stationed there until 2008. The B61-12 is the latest tactical nuclear weapon of the United States. It is a small atomic bomb weighing 350 kg with a TNT explosive yield equivalent to 50 kilotons, and its explosive power can be adjusted depending on the target.

U.S. nuclear weapons were first deployed in the UK in 1954. The deployment sites included three air bases, including RAF Lakenheath. Unlike the U.S., which has nuclear weapon launch capabilities on land, sea, and air, the UK's nuclear weapons system is submarine-launched.

A spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned, "If U.S. nuclear weapons are redeployed to the UK, there will be countermeasures."