Stop British Nuke Jets

The government has announced it is buying 12 nuclear-capable fighter jets. This is a significant expansion of its nuclear capabilities, meaning that Britain will be able to launch nuclear weapons from both the sea and sky.

The government has got its priorities totally wrong. The nuclear-capable fighter jets will cost nearly £900 million to buy – plus another £57 million every year for maintenance costs. This will mean even further cuts to public services like the NHS and social care. These nuclear fighter jets won’t keep us safe and they’ll make us poorer.

These British nuclear fighter jets will be stationed at RAF Marham, near Peterborough. They will be flown as part of NATO nuclear missions. This is because Britain is part of the US-led NATO military alliance. The jets have also been designed to launch US nuclear bombs. These US B61-12 bombs are now stationed at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

The B61-12 bombs have been designed by the US specifically to be used on the battlefield, alongside conventional weapons. This increases the risk of nuclear weapons being used in war. Each bomb has the destructive power to kill over 600,000 people and release toxic radiation that causes birth defects and generational cancers.

Buying Trump’s fighter jets to drop Trump’s nuclear bombs on Russia – or wherever else Trump decides – will not keep us safe. Instead they put us on the frontline of any US-led war. So, these jets have nothing to do with our security and everything to do with assisting Trump’s global war.

Legal opinion makes clear that buying these F35A fighter jets puts Britain in breach of the government’s international law obligations. Under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Britain has committed to take steps to reduce its nuclear arsenal. But nuclear weapons states, like Britain, are instead modernising and increasing their nuclear weapons. This is what is driving the threat of more countries getting nuclear weapons.

CND urges the government to reverse its disastrous war drive, and instead focus on providing real, human security – funding health, education, and climate action.

Join us to stop these deadly nuclear jets from being stationed at RAF Marham. Campaigners have forced Britain to remove nuclear weapons before – we can do it again!