Britain committed in 2025 to buying 12 F-35As for NATO’s Dual Capable Aircraft programme, giving the RAF a tactical nuclear role. RAF pilots would fly the aircraft, while Washington would retain the authority to approve the use of any US nuclear weapons they carried in a crisis.
The committee’s Defence in the High North report, published on 22 October 2026, questioned how the arrangement would strengthen deterrence if doubts persisted over the US commitment to European security. It said peacetime deployments would require the support of host governments and asked for a classified briefing alongside the ministry’s formal response to the report.
France has reached agreements with Denmark and Norway allowing its nuclear-capable aircraft to deploy temporarily for exercises and joint missions, the report said. Paris retains control over the use of its nuclear weapons and agreed with London in the July 2025 Northwood Declaration to set up a steering group on nuclear policy, capabilities and operations.
The UK’s 2026 Defence Investment Plan allocates £2.2 billion up to 2030 for its entire F-35 fleet. The committee also urged ministers to make more of Britain’s existing nuclear commitment to NATO, citing accounts that put spending on nuclear capabilities at £14.45 billion in 2025–26, just over a fifth of the £69.61 billion defence budget.
