U.K. defense chief declares confidence in Trident nuclear missiles after reports of failed test off Florida

London — Britain’s Protection Secretary Grant Shapps sought to reassure U.Okay. lawmakers Wednesday that the nation’s nuclear deterrent weapons program was useful and able to be referred to as upon if wanted after a second consecutive missile take a look at reportedly failed. A nuclear-capable Trident II missile take a look at launched within the Atlantic off the coast of Florida on Jan. 30 reportedly splashed again down shortly after launching, in accordance with Britain’s The Solar newspaper. 

The missile was launched from one of many Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard-class submarines — with Shapps on board to look at — however its first stage booster engine did not ignite, inflicting it to fall again down after which sink, in accordance with CBS Information associate community BBC Information. 

Whereas Britain’s Trident missiles are designed to hold nuclear warheads, they aren’t armed for take a look at launches.

In an announcement to parliament, Shapps confirmed an “anomaly” in the course of the missile take a look at, however insisted that it had “reaffirmed the effectiveness of the U.Okay.’s nuclear deterrent.”

The BBC mentioned it was the second consecutive take a look at of a Trident missile to fail after one of many rockets veered off target in 2016, additionally off Florida’s Atlantic coast. The take a look at launches do not occur typically, with every missile costing U.Okay. taxpayers greater than $20 million. 

The reason for the 2016 failure has by no means been disclosed, however on the time, The Sunday Instances newspaper reported the missile had suffered an in-flight “malfunction.”

“The U.Okay.’s nuclear weapons program is just not functioning and wishes an pressing rethink,” David Cullen, a former activist who’s now the director of the British monitoring group Nuclear Data Service, instructed CBS Information on Wednesday. “This failure has occurred with a backdrop of the navy struggling to take care of [Trident submarine] patrols and ballooning prices.” 

Shapps, nonetheless, referred to as the Trident system “efficient, reliable, and formidable.”  

“The take a look at reaffirmed the effectiveness of the U.Okay.’s nuclear deterrent, by which the federal government has absolute confidence,” Shapps mentioned in a written assertion delivered to lawmakers within the British Parliament on Wednesday. “On this event, an anomaly did happen, however it was occasion particular and there are not any implications for the reliability of the broader Trident missile techniques and stockpiles. Nor are there any implications for our potential to fireside our nuclear weapons, ought to the circumstances come up by which we’d like to take action.” 

The Marketing campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a U.Okay.-based group that has lengthy referred to as for an finish to Britain’s nuclear weapons program, derided the take a look at as a “colossal waste of cash.”

“We have now to ask if it is a good use of the Protection Secretary’s time — going to Florida chasing photograph alternatives for what in the end was an costly failure,” the marketing campaign’s Normal Secretary Kate Hudson mentioned in an announcement.

The U.Okay.’s nuclear deterrent program consists of 4 Vanguard-class submarines, every of which might carry as much as 16 Trident II D5 ballistic missiles. At the least one submarine is at all times deployed, with its location amongst Britain’s most intently guarded navy secrets and techniques. A second sub waits on standby whereas a 3rd carries out coaching workouts and the fourth is introduced in for upkeep.

The Ministry of Protection says that because the system was deployed in April 1969, there has always been no less than one British nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine quietly patrolling the seas. The “deterrent” precept of the Trident system depends on the U.Okay.’s world adversaries by no means realizing the precise location of the deployed submarine.