UK 

Why you are needed at USAF Lakenheath from 14th to 26th April

April 6, 2025

Angie Zelter explains why we must protest at the largest US airbase in Europe.

The UK is unique in that its nuclear program is completely intertwined with that of the US. The UK’s warhead designs are closely tied to their US counterparts and the UK shares the Trident missiles from the US Navy pool. The UK’s nuclear deterrent relies so heavily on American nuclear infrastructure, that it cannot honestly be seen as ‘independent’, even though the UK can launch weapons independently.

This nuclear relationship with the US is governed by the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, which was controversially amended in September 2024 so it no longer requires renewal every ten years. The Agreement enables the transfer of nuclear materials, research, training, and technology, between the two countries, contravening the UK’s legal obligation to disarm, and enabling the US to exercise significant leverageover the UK’s foreign and defence policy.

On top of our UK nuclear weapons, we now have changes in the status of USnuclear weapons here.  Although the US withdrew the last of its nuclear weapons from RAF Lakenheath prior to 2008, partly due to sustained civil resistance by peace groups, we now know that they are coming back to the UK.

The 495th Fighter Squadron of the 48th Fighter Wing at Lakenheath became the first squa­dron in Europe equipped with the new nuclear-capable F-35A Lightning II, certified to carry the new B61–12 nuclear gravity bomb. And recent satellite images indicate that 22 of the nuclear shelters, or vaults, at Lakenheath are being reactivated to receive these bombs. Announcements also tell us that the F-35A fighter jet maintenance and repair facilities at the base have now been completed. Recent announcements of full forward deployment means the nuclear bombs are now likely to have already been delivered. So we know definitely that Lakenheath will be central to NATO nuclear escalation.

The peace movement has not been idle. The direct action campaign, the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace (LAP), was formed early in 2024 and is now composed of 59 different peace, justice and environment organisations. We are all joining together because militarisation and nuclear weapons are a major cause of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. We are showing resistance and public abhorrence at the nuclear escalation and the forever wars that are bringing death and destruction, environmental degradation and impoverishment to countless millions across the planet.

‘RAF’ Lakenheath is in reality USAF Lakenheath and is the largest US airbase in Europe. It is assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa. Its Air Force units maintain combat-ready wings that are pledged to NATO, which plans, conducts, coordinates and supports air and space operations in Europe, parts of Asia and all of Africa with the exception of Egypt.

Over the past two decades, warplanes based at USAF Lakenheath have led devastating conventional missions in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Libya, Syria, the Middle East and East Africa.

USAF Lakenheath is a threat to us all. But with nuclear weapons coming back, under the control of President Trump, it becomes even more dangerous.

The return of US nuclear weapons to Britain, represents a major provocation at a time of escalating tensions between NATO and Russia, and in the world more generally.

Additionally, Lakenheath has been involved in supporting Israel, making us complicit in war crimes and genocide. After the Hamas attacks on 7th October 2023, F-15Es from Lakenheath landed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major US base in Jordan, on 13th October to bolster the US presence in the region. Since then it has provided ongoing support to Israel in its military attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

It is insane to be bringing US nuclear weapons back into the UK and continuing to be a member of the nuclear NATO alliance when every nation in the world should be cooperating to stop runaway climate change and its consequences which threaten all life on this planet. This is why the Lakenheath Alliance is committed to nonviolent direct action for a peaceful and non-threatening world and needs your support.

An International Peace Camp is setting up from 14th to 26th April. We will maintain a night and day vigil at the gates over the full two weeks. We are joining forces with climate, justice and biodiversity movements, with different event days planned throughout the two weeks, focusing on particular issues. There will be an International Peace Conference on Thursday 24th April, entitled Analysing and Resisting US Nuclear Expansion.  And we will end with a big blockade of the base on Saturday 26th April. We will be joined by internationals experiencing similar problems to us.

For the full programme, please visit our website. And please come and support us and stay for however long you are able. If you cannot make any other day, at least join in the Blockade on 26th April.

Angie Zelter is a long-time peace and environmental campaigner and founder of civil resistance campaigns including Trident Ploughshares, XR Peace, IWPS-Palestine. She is the author of Activism for Life, amongst other books published by Luath Press.