Trident
Trident is the UK’s current nuclear weapons system. There is at present a great deal of speculation about the future of the system. The difference of opinion, and policy, between the two parties in the coalition government on any replacement system has brought this speculation much more to the fore. The government maintains that the submarines will need to be replaced by about 2028 and therefore a decision to start building will need to be taken in the next parliament in 2016, and that a decision on the future of the warheads will also need to be taken in the next parliament.
However this four-year gap before concrete decisions are taken opens up space for a full review of whether retaining nuclear weapons enhances or detracts from our security, and of exactly what, if any, political, strategic or military utility they actually have. The UK is after all a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the current government agreed in May 2010 to an unequivocal undertaking to “accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament,” at the Review Conference of the Treaty.
Following the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, Part Three: The Deterrent, published on 19th Oct 2010, the system will, from now, consist of:
- 4 Vanguard Class submarines, ‘The Platform’
- Up to 16 Missiles per submarine, leased from the US, ‘the delivery system’ with a range of up to 11,000km
- Up to 40 warheads on each submarine, each with a maximum capacity of 100KT and each one independently targeted.
There will be 120 operational warheads available, with no more than 180 in the overall stockpile of nuclear weapons. For fuller information on the system see Greenpeace.org.uk.
There are many opinions on Trident and a great deal of research and analysis has been carried out. The reports and briefings on this page reflect a range of opinion on the issue.
