Estonia ready to host British fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs, defence minister says
Estonia ready to host British fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs, defence minister says
Estonia ready to host nuclear-capable jets
[...]
Asked [...] if Estonia would be willing to host Britain’s future fleet of F-35A fighters, defence minister Hanno Pevkur replied, “I’m always open. The door is always open for allies.”
The comments follow the incursion of three Russian MiG-31s into Estonian skies last week. The aircraft, flying without transponders or flight plans, remained over the Gulf of Finland for twelve minutes before being escorted out by Italian F-35s from Ämari airbase.
[...]
Western leaders urged caution over escalating the stand-off. Mr Pevkur said NATO’s response should be “proportionate” and decided “case-by-case.” Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, struck a harder line, declaring: “We will shoot down any flying objects when they violate our territory and fly over Poland. There is absolutely no discussion over that.”
[...]
For Estonia, NATO’s smallest frontline state, the latest incursion [of Russian drones] was a stark reminder of its reliance on allied air power. “The question is not whether Russia will try again,” one official said, “but how we will respond.”
Britain, however, does not have nuclear weapons that go on these planes. All of our nukes are submarine-based.
Yes, they would carry US nukes under the nuclear sharing program.
It seems a bit odd to not mention that there are already nuclear-capable NATO aicraft in Estonia, though. There are French Rafales (France actually has its own air-launched nukes) and Italian F-35As (another NATO nuclear sharing state) there right now
So if they'd make a submarine form factor that can be mounted to the F35As hardpoints...
Don't be ridiculous. The missiles weigh twice what an F-35 does. We have to mount the plane to the missile