Is Britain About To Dismantle It's Nuclear Arsenal?

A Trident submarine leaving its base on the Clyde. The village of Strone is visible in the background. Wikipedia

Trident Submarine Missiles Review To Suggest 'Stepping Down Nuclear Ladder' -- The Guardian

Ousted defence minister Nick Harvey claims military and Whitehall backing for cheaper alternatives.

The government's review of the future of the Trident submarine nuclear missile system is likely to suggest a significant downgrading of the UK's nuclear deterrent, including the possibility of locking the warheads "in a cupboard" for delayed launch only after several weeks of mounting international tension.

The revelation was made by Sir Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat who was the defence minister leading the review until the government reshuffle this month. The MP for North Devon said he believed the policy could get support in Whitehall and from senior military figures and Labour.

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Update: Top military chiefs go cold on nuclear deterrent -- The Independent

My Comment: With no money in the budget, there is a very good chance that this British nuclear deterrent will be "mothballed".

Britain's New Trident Fleet To Cost £25bn

Nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard arriving back at HM Naval Base. Photo from Defpro

New Trident Fleet Cost Will Top £25bn -- The Guardian

Defence secretary Liam Fox announces new funding but says Lib Dems will oversee review into 'alternatives'.

The cost of a new fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines could more than double to £25bn by the time they are built, the defence secretary, Liam Fox, told MPs.

The figure was released as the Ministry of Defence announced significant new funding for a new Trident system even though, at the Lib Dems' behest, a final decision is not due to be taken until after the next general election.

The figure does not include the price of warheads, the running costs, and the bill for leasing Trident missiles from the US.

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More News on Britain's New Submarine Fleet

Trident replacement to go ahead, Fox confirms -- BBC
Fox angers MPs by ordering plans for a new Trident fleet -- Daily Mail
UK Announces Plans for Successor Nuclear Deterrent Submarine -- Defpro
Work begins on new Trident system - at a cost of £25billion -- Mirror
UK to spend 3 bln pounds on nuclear sub work -- Reuters
Work on Trident nuclear renewal gets go ahead -- BBC
Britain Approves Design of New Nuclear Submarines -- Defense News/AFP
Billions are spent on 'son of Trident' but future still in doubt -- News Scotland
Fox undermines review of Trident -- Herald Scotland
Trident review seeks cheaper option -- Financial Times
Q&A: Trident replacement -- BBC

US Senate Cuts Funding For A Conventional Trident Missile

Photo: (Sep. 22) - A U.S. Trident 2 D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile takes off in a 1987 flight test. A Senate panel last week eliminated funding for a Pentagon study about the implications of placing conventional armaments on some D-5 missiles (U.S. Defense Department photo).

Senate Panel Again Cuts Funds for Conventional Trident Missile -- Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee last week zeroed funding for Conventional Trident Modification, a proposed Defense Department program to allow a small number of the Navy's D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles to carry a non-nuclear payload (see GSN, May 21, 2009).

For the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the Obama administration had requested $10 million for a "global strike study" to determine "what surety, safety and ambiguity issues may exist" if nuclear weapon-carrying submarines "were outloaded with both conventional and nuclear payloads," according to a Navy budget document submitted to Capitol Hill in February.

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My Comment: This is a classic case of one side wanting a conventional weapon system that can strike an enemy target in the shortest time possible, and the other side concerned that such a weapon system could be interpreted as a nuclear attack if it should be used. For the moment the Trident missile option is dead, but with many now expecting major changes in Congress in the November elections .... anything after November will become possible.

Budget Woes Means That Britain Cannot Pay For A Nuclear Deterrent

Armed Forces Stunned By Trident Bill -- The Telegraph

Defence chiefs have been left stunned and angry by the Treasury's refusal to finance the £20 billion cost of replacing Britain's ageing nuclear deterrent.

In a break with historical precedent, George Osborne, the Chancellor, has ruled that the entire cost of the new system must be found from within the day-to-day defence budget.

The ruling has caused disarray within the Ministry of Defence where officials are already struggling to find cost savings of 20 per cent – or £7 billion – from next year's budget.

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More News On the UK's Trident Program

U.K. Defense Chief Backs Trident Replacement -- Global Security Newswire
Trident costs must come from MoD budget, Osborne says -- BBC
Having to pay for Trident is the Ministry of Defence's worst nightmare -- The Telegraph
Q&A: Trident replacement -- BBC
Accounting and the Bomb -- The Economist
Nuclear deterrence means the nation must pay for a submarine always on patrol -- The Telegraph opinion
Trident blows up -- Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian
Our overseas aid bill could pay for Trident -- The Telegraph opinion

Deterrent Cannot Be Guaranteed With Three Subs, Says U.S. Navy Chief

A Royal Navy Trident nuclear submarine. Photograph: Corbis

From Times Online:

The Royal Navy will only be able to “guarantee” continuous deterrent patrols with Trident ballistic-missile submarines if the Government agrees to keep four boats, the head of the Royal Navy told The Times yesterday.

It would be possible to get by with three submarines, provided the Government was prepared to risk breaking the 24-hour, 365-day patrol cycle that had been maintained for 41 years. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said that Gordon Brown had posed a perfectly legitimate question when, in planning for Trident’s replacement, he asked the Navy to study whether the nuclear deterrent patrols could be fulfilled with three boats.

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My Comment: I can sympathize with the Admiral. He is trying his best to educate his political masters on what it takes to maintain a submarine fleet .... but they are not listening.

Trident Submarine News Updates -- February 27, 2009

The sun’s rays glint off the hull of the strategic missile submarine USS Maryland as it cruises atop the waves somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 15, 2009. DoD photo by Gerry J. Gilmore

Tight-knit Trident Submariners Conduct Strategic Deterrence Missions -- U.S. Department Of Defense

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2009 – Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean last week, sailors aboard the Trident strategic missile submarine USS Maryland prepared to start a series of underwater practice maneuvers known as “angles and dangles.”

The Maryland’s captain, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey M. Grimes, and his chief of the boat and senior enlisted leader, Master Chief Petty Officer Michael C. McLauchlan, intently observed the actions of the officers and enlisted crew in the control room as the vessel silently tilted downward.

Trident strategic deterrent submarines -- nicknamed “Boomers” -- carry as many as 24 Trident II D-5 nuclear ballistic missiles.

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More News On The Trident Submarine Fleet

U.S. Seeks Successor to Trident Submarine -- Dvidshub
Refurbished U.S. Warhead Returns to Navy Service -- Global Security Newswire
Trident subs honored but with an eye on the end -- Jacksonville
Bangor's boomers celebrate 1,000th strategic patrol -- Seattle PI
Tight-knit Trident Submariners Conduct Strategic Deterrence Missions -- Dvidshub
Life onboard a submarine -- Kings Bay Periscope