Britain's nuclear deterrent isn't independent. It's rented from America.

Britain’s nuclear deterrent isn’t independent. It’s rented from America.

Our nuclear deterrent is meant to be the ultimate guarantee of sovereignty.
But the uncomfortable truth is: Starmer might hold the nuclear codes, but
an increasingly unpredictable Washington holds the missiles. What nobody
likes to highlight is that the United Kingdom’s supposedly independent
nuclear deterrent is actually entirely reliant on the United States. The
submarines and the warheads are made in Britain but the Trident missiles
themselves are owned by the Americans. They are leased by the UK but are
manufactured, maintained and stored in the US. British submarines have to
travel to the US Strategic Weapons Facility at King’s Bay, Georgia, to pick
them up before taking their turn patrolling the oceans.

Observer 11th March 2026

https://observer.co.uk/news/politics/article/britains-nuclear-deterrent-isnt-independent-its-rented-from-america