US Fighter Jets Capable Of Carrying Nuclear Weapons To Be Deployed In UK

Handout photo dated March 2, 2016 shows an F-35A Lightning II from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to MacDill AFB, Fla., about 100 miles off the Gulf Coast after 58th Fighter Squadron's first successful munition employment at a nearby range . The UK media reports that two F-35A squadrons have already been deployed and will soon arrive at the US-leased Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in England. These are low-visibility aircraft designed to deliver tactical nuclear strikes; they are also capable of conducting air-to-air combat tasks and gathering intelligence. Military sources stress that deploying 54 F-35 fighter jets, which will replace the F-15s currently at the air base, is a "significant step" because the F-15s are also capable of carrying nuclear weapons but are less advanced. U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Hope R. Cronin via ABACAPRESS.COM