The US will station nuclear weapons at Britain's RAF Leakenheath for the first time in 15 years as the Russian threat grows, documents show

The US plans to station nuclear weapons in Britain for the first time in 15 years as the threat of World War III with Russia grows.

Blockbuster documents from the Pentagon revealed that the US is set to store the weapons RAF Leakenheath in Suffolk.

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According to the procurement contracts, the US plans to keep nuclear warheads at the air base that are three times as powerful as the deadly bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

The US stripped Britain of its nuclear missiles in 2008 after the threat of the Cold War subsided.

RAF Lakenheath is expected to take B61-12 gravity bombs with a variable yield of up to 50 kilotons.

The comprehensive documents in the US Department of Defense procurement database reveal plans for a “nuclear mission” to take place “soon” at the RAF base.

The Pentagon has been at the center of questions over speculation about a new “security dormitory” but has consistently declined to comment.

The first sense that the US was about to move its nuclear weapons came when budget documents were released last year.

It revealed that the Pentagon has ordered new equipment for the base, including ballistic shields designed to protect military personnel from attacks by “high-value assets.”

RAF Lakenheath has been run by the US Air Force for decades under British regulations and laws.

The deal will allow the US to provide them with a home nuclear weapons that can be deployed by F-35 fighter jets.

The US has already announced plans to station two squadrons of F-35 fighter jets at RAF Lakenheath with the 48th Fighter Wing.

The return of weapons to Britain is part of a huge one NATO pressing to develop and upgrade nuclear sites around the world in preparation for a possible escalation of fighting.

Tensions with the Kremlin have subsequently increased Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia has said that if the US places weapons in Britain it would consider it an “escalation” and face “compensatory countermeasures”.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said ahead of the latest announcement: “If this step is ever taken, we will consider it as an escalation, as a step towards escalation that would move things in a direction which is completely antithetical to tackling the problems. urgent issue of withdrawing all nuclear weapons from European countries.

“This practice and its development compel us to take countervailing countermeasures designed to reliably protect the security interests of our country and its allies.”

The US currently has nuclear warheads deployed across Europe in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, under a NATO agreement.

The Pentagon has not yet confirmed whether it plans to store nuclear weapons in Britain.

A spokesperson said: “The United States routinely upgrades its military facilities in allied countries. Such activities are often accompanied by unclassified administrative budget documents.

“These documents do not predict, nor are they intended to reveal specific details about the attitude or basis.

“It is U.S. policy not to confirm or deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons in any general or specific location.”

The West has faced increasing pressure to act after increasing conflicts around the world, including the country's troubles Iran and North Korea – both allies of Putin.

The US and Britain have also carried out air raids strikes against the Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

The Iran-backed militia has attacked container ships with any connection to Israel in revenge attacks for Israel's offensive in Gaza against Hamas.

It comes just days after a NATO chief warned British people may face conscription as the threat of all-out war with Russia loomed.

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO's military committee, called on the West to “prepare for an era of war,” adding that NATO “needs a transformation in warfare.”

Speaking at a summit between NATO defense chiefs in Brussels, Bauer said: “We need to be ready across the spectrum.

“You have to have a system to find more people when it comes to war, whether it is or not. Then you are talking about mobilization, reservists or conscription.

'We must realize that it cannot be taken for granted that we will have peace. And that's why we [Nato forces] prepare for a conflict with Russia.”

General Sir Patrick made his plea to ordinary Britons at the International Armored Vehicles Conference in Twickenham.

He said: “Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel more acutely the proximity of the Russian threat, are already acting cautiously and laying the foundation for national mobilization.

“We will not be immune and as the pre-war generation we must prepare in the same way – and that is a nation-wide undertaking.

“Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.

“Our predecessors failed to see the implications of the so-called July crisis of 1914 and ended up in the most horrific wars. We cannot afford to make the same mistake today.”

If conscription were introduced, it would be the first time in more than 60 years that Britons would have to fight.

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