Labour seeks Trident assurances after missile test ‘anomaly’
Labour has called for assurances over the effectiveness of Britain’s nuclear deterrent after “concerning” reports about a Trident missile test failure.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that an “anomaly occurred” during an exercise that took place on 30 January onboard the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Vanguard.
Officials said they could not say any more because the incident related to national security. They said there remained “absolute confidence” in Britain’s constant at-sea nuclear deterrent and that it continued to be “secure and effective”.
The Sun, which first reported on the test failure, said the incident occurred during an exercise off the coast of Florida last month.
The newspaper reported that a dummy Trident 2 missile was propelled into the air by compressed gas in its launch tube but that its so-called first-stage boosters did not ignite.
An anonymous source quoted by the Sun said: “It left the submarine but it just went plop, right next to them.”
The MoD said the “anomaly” during the exercise was “event specific”.
It is said to be the second misfiring in a row, with a test launch of a Trident missile by the Royal Navy off the coast of the US in June 2016 also reported to have been a failure.
The shadow defence secretary, John Healey, said: “Reports of a Trident test failure are concerning. The defence secretary will want to reassure parliament that this test has no impact on the effectiveness of the UK’s deterrent operations.”
A written ministerial statement on Britain’s nuclear deterrent is expected to be laid in the House of Commons by the defence secretary, Grant Shapps, according to Wednesday’s order paper.
Shapps was onboard the 150-metre vessel at the time of the incident, a spokesperson for the defence secretary confirmed.
The first sea lord, Adm Sir Ben Key, was also present at the time to mark what was the final exercise for Vanguard and its crew after a refit of the vessel that took more than seven years, an MoD spokesperson said.
Another MoD spokesperson said: “HMS Vanguard and her crew have been proven fully capable of operating the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrent, passing all tests during a recent demonstration and shakedown operation, a routine test to confirm that the submarine can return to service following deep maintenance work. The test has reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, in which we have absolute confidence.
“During the test an anomaly occurred. As a matter of national security, we cannot provide further information on this, however we are confident that the anomaly was event specific, and therefore there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpile. The UK’s nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective.”
HMS Vanguard is one of four Vanguard-class nuclear submarines that first went on patrol in 1994, with one of the vessels continually at sea. They carry American-built Trident 2 D5 nuclear missiles, the mainstay of Britain’s strategic nuclear deterrent.
A Trident missile can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles away and at its fastest can travel at more than 13,000mph, according to the Royal Navy. They are 13 metres long, weigh 130,000lb (58,500kg) and are ejected from the submarine by high-pressured gas before they fire as they reach the surface of the water.
Each Vanguard-class submarine can hold up to 16 intercontinental ballistic missiles and will carry up to eight Trident rockets and up to 40 nuclear warheads.
The V-class is due to be replaced by the bigger Dreadnought-class submarines in the 2030s. Between £31bn and £41bn has been set aside for the wider programme of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines, according to figures from the House of Commons library.