The long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR) is not expected to recommend that the UK should have tactical nuclear weapons, despite military experts warning Britain’s armoury needs to be beefed up in the face of Russian aggression.
The SDR, to be unveiled on Monday, will cover the UK’s nuclear deterrent as one of its big themes for modernising Britain’s defence capabilities.
But The i Paper understands that it will not specifically call for battlefield nuclear weapons, which could be deployed in response to a similar strike by Vladimir Putin.
Tactical nuclear weapons, which can be launched from planes and deployed at short range, are different to the strategic weapons of the kind that are carried on Britain’s at-sea Trident deterrent, on submarines.
Air-launched nuclear weapons were carried by the RAF until they were discontinued by the Blair Government in the 1990s.
But earlier this month Sir Simon Case, the former Cabinet Secretary, called for Britain to reinstate the arsenal due to the growing threat from Russia.
Ex-Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has been pushing for Britain to reinstate an arsenal of tactical nuclear weaponsIt is understood that a number of military experts, including retired generals, have also advocated their return.
While next week’s SDR will stress the importance of the nuclear deterrent and recommend some modernisation, it is possible that further details – including an announcement on tactical nuclear weapons – could be made by the Government later this year.
The review, to be launched by the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary John Healey, is expected to also highlight the growing threat from Britain’s adversaries in the Arctic, the need for a home guard and for a homeland missile defence, as all previously revealed by The i Paper.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge – who under the last Conservative Government held the nuclear portfolio as defence minister – said the debate over whether to beef up the UK’s nuclear deterrent was one of the most urgent facing the country “in the face of resurgent Russian aggression”.
He added: “This is far from easy territory, but we have to understand that Russia remains our most immediate threat and in the Kremlin, there is one part of UK defence that they respect more than any other: our nuclear forces.
“To avoid war at the devastating scale last seen in 1945 – notwithstanding the terrible casualty count in Ukraine – we have to possess a credible deterrent that stops aggression in its tracks.
“As such, nuclear weapons remain absolutely integral to our overall deterrence effort – but technology isn’t standing still, and we have to recognise our shortcomings in this field.”
Cartlidge said while the at-sea strategic deterrent remained the most important method of delivery, Britain’s nuclear armoury needed to be more resilient, including “diversifying our methods for delivering nuclear strike”.
Tactical air-launched nuclear weapons “would deepen our deterrent to ‘tactical’ or ‘theatre level’ thresholds – where the likes of Russia have nuclear capabilities, but we have only conventional options”, the shadow defence secretary said.
Tobias Ellwood, the former Conservative defence minister, said he agreed with Case that the UK’s nuclear deterrent was not sufficient.
He added: “We have no tactical nuclear weapons, sea-launched platforms only. Had it not been for pushback from India and China, Putin could easily have deployed a tactical low-yield nuclear weapon. Our response options are limited if we have nothing similar in our armoury.”
Another defence insider said: “There are definitely decisions that need to be made on nukes.”
In an interview with The Times earlier this month, Case said it was a mistake for the Blair Government to take air-dropped nuclear weapons out of service.
As a result, the UK is the only nuclear power that relies on a single system to deliver its deterrent, through the Vanguard class of submarines armed with Trident missiles.
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