Rather, the upgrade at RAF Lakenheath could potentially be intended to increase the flexibility of the existing nuclear deployment within Europe, without increasing the number of weapons. There are currently an estimated 100 US Air Force nuclear bombs stored in Europe. RAF Lakenheath has been an inactive nuclear weapons storage site for nearly two decades. In recent years there have been rumors about nuclear exercises at the base. The F-15Es fighter-bombers retained their nuclear capability but at a lower operational level. It is unclear if nuclear weapons have been returned to the base yet or NATO is upgrading the base to be capable of receiving nuclear weapons in the future if necessary.Īfter nuclear weapons were withdrawn nearly two decades ago, the empty storage vaults were kept in caretaker status. The addition of the United Kingdom to the list of nuclear storage locations being upgraded in Europe signals a change in the nuclear status of RAF Lakenheath. In 2008, I disclosed that the nuclear weapons had been withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath, the first time since 1954 that the United States did not store nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom. By the early 2000s, there were a total of 110 B61 gravity bombs in the vaults for delivery by F-15E aircraft of the 48 th Fighter Wing. The US Air Force used to store nuclear gravity bombs at Lakenheath, which in the 1990s was equipped with 33 underground storage vaults. The budget documents indicate the base has since been added to the list. RAF Lakenheath was not on the list of “active sites” in the 2016 contract for the upgrade of the nuclear weapons storage site in Europe. The United Kingdom has been added to the list of nuclear weapons storage site locations in Europe.
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