Farnborough 2026: RAF prepares for return to nuclear role
An F-35A showing a pair of B61-12 freefall nuclear bombs in its twin internal weapons bays. The RAF will field the combination as part of the shared NATO nuclear mission from the early 2030s. (Sandia National Laboratories )
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is readying itself for a return to the nuclear deterrence role, ahead of the planned arrival of the first of 12 new Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) dual-capable aircraft (DCA) in the early 2030s.
Speaking ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow 2026 running from 20 to 24 July, Air Vice-Marshal Jim Beck Director Capability and Programmes said that the return of the nuclear mission “is one of the most important moves we have made in the RAF for a generation”, ending a nearly 30-year hiatus for the air-delivered nuclear capability since the service retired the WE177 freefall bomb in 1998.
“In the 2025 Strategic Defence Review [SDR], it announced that we were going to have a posture shift – we were going to acquire 12 F-35A conventional aircraft for a nuclear dual capable aircraft role,” AVM Beck said on 15 July at the Air Power Association Global Air and Space Chiefs' Conference 2026 in London. “I do not think there is a bigger political message we can make that we are NATO first from a UK defence posture,” he added with reference to the shared NATO nature of the intended nuclear mission.
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