nuclear-news

UK stuck with fairly useless nuclear submarines – mainly to save face

The Trident Debate: UK’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrent – Analysis By:
IPCS, January 2, 2013  By Debak Das Stuck in a world order where it
represents the lower rung of the club of ‘Nuclear Weapons States’, the
United Kingdom’s (UK) now delayed decision to upgrade its Trident
submarine nuclear missile system raises some important questions.

What does the deterrent mean for the UK and what is the need for it
now? And secondly, what are the implications of the upgradation of
this missile system along with the new £315 million pound deal to work
on the replacement of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard class of submarines.

Why Does The UK Need The Nuclear Deterrent?  The Vanguard class of
submarines and the Trident submarine missile systems are a relic of
the Cold War…. Why then the deterrent? The answer to this question
lies in two propositions. First, the nuclear deterrent is a symbol of
the ‘great power’ that Britain once was. Coming to terms with the fact
the recalibration in the world order has left them at best, fence
sitters in the new world order is difficult. Giving up the prestige
associated with the status of being a ‘Nuclear Weapons State’ would
perhaps be unacceptable to British sensibilities. Second, ‘a
non-nuclear Britain’ would be immediately relegated to the status of
becoming a junior partner to France in the NATO and the EU. In a world
where nuclear weapons still represent the hard currency of power, this
would be an unacceptable state of affairs for the British……
Firstly, if the costs of upgradation are so high and there is no
nuclear weapons state that is hostile to the UK’s strategic
environment, why can the UK not exist under the larger nuclear
umbrella of the NATO? Interestingly, the NATO has a nuclear doctrine
that does not rule out the first use of nuclear weapons. Secondly,
given that the UK’s strategic weapons are greatly tied to the
strategic defence of other NATO countries, the role of the NATO in the
UK’s decision to either upgrade or do away with its nuclear deterrent,
will be central…….http://www.eurasiareview.com/02012013-the-trident-debate-uks-strategic-nuclear-deterrent-analysis/

January 3, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war