nuclear-news

UK govt to spend £642 million developing new submarines for Trident nuclear missiles

Anger as £642m Trident nuclear submarines investment is confirmed, Herald Scotland, 3 Mar 16  A further £642 million will be invested in developing the new generation of submarines carrying the UK’s nuclear deterrent, Michael Fallon has confirmed.

The defence secretary said the nuclear deterrent “provides the ultimate guarantee of our security” as he announced the extra spending on the boats which will carry the Trident weapons.

But he was condemned by anti-Trident campaigners for making the announcement before MPs have had a chance to give the final go-ahead for the project……… It takes spending on the project’s assessment phase to £3.9 billion……

Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: “I ask Michael Fallon, what is the point of a parliamentary vote on Trident if the Government’s going to spend millions on replacement anyway?

“This is completely unacceptable. This is about huge amounts of money being spent on out-of-date technology that will be redundant by the time it is built.

“There is a growing body of evidence which shows that Trident is vulnerable to cyber warfare and attacks by underwater drones.

“The Government appears to be burying its head in the sand – stuck in a 1980s mindset that we are a great power fighting in the Cold War.

“We ask for some objectivity in considering Trident. It is time the Government thought very carefully about the real security threats we face from terrorism, climate change and global pandemics, but also be honest about the very real threat posed by our own nuclear weapons system.”……

the Trident missile system, which was launched in the 1990s as a replacement for the predecessor, Polaris, is due to end its service from 2028. It takes about a decade to build and prepare a new submarine for service. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/14319629.Anger_as___642m_Trident_nuclear_submarines_investment_is_confirmed/?ref=rss

March 4, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war