Restoring UK airborne nuclear deterrent is key goal for new air chief

LONDON — Empowering the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force to reintroduce a nuclear-strike capability as soon as possible will be a key priority for the service in the coming years, according to Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, the country’s Chief of the Air Staff, who took over the role in August.

“The RAF will soon have a capability to offer NATO credible and robust response options, because we have added it to our escalation ladder,” Smyth said in a keynote speech at the 2025 DSEI UK show in London. “A nuclear-empowered Lightning will enable the U.K. with this capability.”

Smyth was referring to London’s June 2025 announcement that the nation will acquire 12 new F-35A fighter jets to join NATO’s dual-capable aircraft nuclear mission. The procurement will allow the U.K. to reintroduce aircraft that can carry both conventional and atomic payloads. The United States, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, and Turkey are the other NATO member states that currently operate such platforms.

Under the plan, the new fighter jets are to be based at the RAF’s Marham base, with London expected to secure a total of 138 F35 aircraft over the lifetime of the program.

“I would expect our adversaries to take a key note of this change,” the Air Force chief said after singling out Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as countries that are “all active in today’s battle space.”

“We enter the era of the defense dividend with a government that wants to make the U.K. a world defense superpower,” Smyth added. “In an uncertain future, air and space power will continue to be the nation’s first responder.”

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国空军参谋长哈维·史密斯空军上将表示，尽快赋予英国皇家空军核打击能力将是该军种未来几年的一项关键优先事项。史密斯于今年8月接任该职务。

“英国皇家空军很快就能为北约提供可靠且强有力的应对方案，因为我们已将其纳入升级程序，”史密斯在伦敦举行的2025年英国防务与安全国际展览会（DSEI UK）的主题演讲中表示。“配备核弹头的闪电战斗机将使英国具备这种能力。”

斯迈思指的是伦敦在2025年6月宣布的一项计划，即英国将采购12架新型F-35A战斗机，加入北约的双用途核战机任务。此次采购将使英国重新拥有能够携带常规和核弹头的战机。目前，美国、德国、意大利、荷兰、比利时、希腊和土耳其等其他北约成员国也拥有此类战机。

根据该计划，新型战斗机将部署在英国皇家空军的马勒姆基地，预计伦敦将在该计划的整个生命周期内获得总共 138 架 F-35 战斗机。

“我希望我们的对手能够注意到这一变化，”这位空军司令在特别指出俄罗斯、中国、伊朗和朝鲜这些“活跃于当今战场”的国家后说道。

史密斯补充道：“我们正步入国防红利时代，而本届政府的目标是使英国成为世界防务超级大国。在充满不确定性的未来，空天力量仍将是国家的第一道防线。”

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。