US believed to be reconstituting nuclear stocks at RAF Lakenheath in UK

A file photo of an F-35A of the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath. According to recent reports of C-17s transiting from Kirtland AFB in the US to the UK, it seems that the USAF is now reconstituting its nuclear mission at the base. (US Air Force)

The United States is believed to be reconstituting its stockpile of nuclear weapons at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, nearly two decades after they were removed from the US Air Force (USAF) facility in 2008.

A series of flights in late July of USAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft monitored by online tracker services routing from Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) in the US to RAF Lakenheath have fuelled speculation that the first B61-12 nuclear freefall bombs may now be arriving. Kirtland AFB in New Mexico is home to the Kirtland Underground Munitions Maintenance and Storage Complex (KUMMSC), which houses the US nuclear arsenal.

These flights followed the release and subsequent recall by the US Department of Defense (DoD) in 2024 of documents pertaining to the re-establishment of the USAF's 48th Fighter Wing (FW) at the UK base as a nuclear-capable unit.

Janes requested confirmation or denial from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) that these transport flights might be carrying nuclear weapons but was told, “It remains a long-standing UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.” The US DoD had not responded to a separate request for comment at the time of publication.