Britain says it will buy the 12 Lockheed Martin-designed F-35As to shore up its defenses against Russia and hedge against a U.S. drawdown in Europe.

The U.K. says it will buy 12 U.S.-made F35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs and join NATO’s shared airborne nuclear mission

The UK will buy at least a dozen new US-made F-35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to curry favor with President Donald Trump while hedging against a pull-back in American security support.