The UK’s Trident submarines and missiles will be boosted by France’s offer to deploy jets as part of a nuclear shield to protect Europe from the threat of Russian aggression.
Paris is said to be willing to send warplanes carrying nuclear weapons to Germany to deter Vladimir Putin’s forces if the US withdraws from European security arrangements.
The UK is unable to provide assistance with nuclear air defence, sources have said, but the combined effect would send a strong message to Moscow.
Keir Starmer has announced a £13bn increase in UK defence spending from 2027, warning that “instability in Europe will always wash up on our shores”.
The UK no longer has jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons. However, it operates a nuclear sea deterrent in the from of Trident – a group of four nuclear submarines equipped with missiles which can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles away.
Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, said he did not see any need for the UK to contribute to France’s plan, given it already provides this level of nuclear security to Europe.
“Our nuclear has been declared to Nato since the 1960s – our deterrent is for Nato – so we’re already giving nuclear protection to Germany,” he said.
“France has always said, ‘Our nuclear deterrents are for us, they’re not for you.’ Now Macron is saying, ‘We can actually do some more for the rest of you’ – that’s a very nice change, but actually we do it already.”
France’s plan will not immediately change the use or position of Trident, Navy sources told The i Paper.
The location of Trident submarines is never disclosed, so it is not possible to say if they should be moved closer to Russia.
Air defence sources said that RAF participation in France’s plan was highly unlikely.
In the 1980s, the UK ditched its nuclear air capability in favour of Trident.
Restarting a nuclear air programme is not seen as viable, requiring a significant political pivot and “multi-million-pound” investment to adapt current aircraft to be able to carry nuclear weapons and obtain airborne nuclear warheads, according to a senior RAF source.
It would also be highly complex for the UK to send existing jets to carry France’s warheads – adapting to this would take “several months”, even in a war situation.
The source said the scale of the complications meant that the possibility of RAF aircraft carrying a foreign nation’s nuclear weapon was “infinitesimally small”.
It is possible that the UK could contribute to a wider Nato air package – for instance, providing aircraft to fly out in front of the French nuclear jets to clear the way for them to launch – but it would not be specific to the French nuclear shield plan.
“Whilst we’re very supportive of everything our Nato allies do, this isn’t one for the RAF,” the source said.
While meeting Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, Macron announced that French Rafale multi-role fighter jets armed with nuclear weapons could be deployed in Germany as part of an initiative to strengthen Europe’s deterrence.
The plan marks a significant shift in France’s position, which had previously been that its nuclear arsenal was a deterrence for France alone, rather than its European allies.
It is not clear in what circumstances French jets would be deployed, or how many would be sent, but it is believed this would only happen if the US were to pull its nuclear capabilities from Germany.
Dr Marion Messmer, senior research fellow at Chatham House’s International Security Programme, said rethinking Europe’s nuclear deterrent was a “fairly new challenge” and we “don’t know for certain how an alternative would work.
“I assume that the rules of engagement [on the French nuclear jet plan] would be similar as for the current rules around US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe – it would be up to the French president to order their use.”
Like Lord West, Dr Messmer said it was not clear how the UK could contribute to the plan or provide further nuclear deterrence for Europe, but that France’s offer would help to strengthen the UK’s existing nuclear deterrence approach.
“The UK on its own would not be able to provide as strong of a nuclear deterrence guarantee for Nato, but together with France, it would look like a much more serious proposition,” she said.
“Perception is an important aspect of nuclear deterrence and having a strong joint European position will project strength much more.”
The French plan comes as Europe is faced with urgently upscaling its own security apparatus, amid Donald Trump’s growing disinterest in European security.
The US President has been highly critical of the money the US puts towards European security deals and called Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenksy a “salesman” and a “dictator”.
On Monday, the US sided with Russia during a vote at the UN Security Council on Ukraine.
There are growing calls within European defence circles to develop a more self-sufficient security apparatus. Friedrich Merz, who looks set to become the next German chancellor, has called for European “independence” from the US, saying it is clear that Trump does not “care about the fate of Europe one way or another”.
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