NUFC Forum

ignoring the cost, which is moot considering the question

does the UK need a further nuclear deterrent, beyond 2020, the expiration date of Trident?

bearing in mind that:

1. Trident is the only active UK nuclear weapon
2. Trident is now equipped for 'flexible response' allowing anything from pinpoint low-yield single warhead response to full strategic strike capability
3. development for a replacement must start in the next few years, any delay could result in a 'window of vulnerability'

Can you imagine the loss of nuclear deterrents allied to the end of the Union? Might as well pack up and go home.

What was wrong with Polaris? Wasn't it nucleary enough? I don't understand why weapons need shoot-by dates.

it's not the weapons, it's the great big rusty holes in the submarines that are the problem

Can't we just pretend we have nukes and spend the money on something good instead?

That's probably what we do any way.

we can fire nuclear tipped cruise missiles and the RN and the Airforce still have Nuclear bombs and depth charges that are refurbed near Reading every so often........................

Practically no-one ever gives up a weapon so it looks as if we're stuck with it

the fact it never stopped  Osama or the Argies in the Falklands  is of course irrelevant (cough cough)

Perhaps the money would be better spent on galvanised or stainless steels subs?  :winking:

Ah but we have to build new ones every so often to keep the jobs in Barrow

Same as spending money at Aldermaston - if we don't pay them they might all bugger off to Iran or somewhere

we don't own the cruise missiles

the air force don't have any strategic bombers anymore

the bombs would take weeks to re-enter service, and IIRC are to be decommissioned under non-proliferation treaties

we don't own the Trident Missiles either - we "rent" them from the USN - we do own the subs tho'

the bombs are kept "live" at several places - not as many as they used to have but .... and a Tornado can get to a lot of places with airborne refueling or using Cyprus for example

compare the Tornado flight time and the flight time of a missile...

and the tridents are in our possession and usable right now, IIRC we have to ask the US for the cruises. The differenc being the trident missile body is rented, the warhead is UK owned, wheras the cruise warhead and missile are US

of course the bombs are live, but they aren't currently deployable in a short space of time, as per our treaty agreements

Its never been made clear if we have all the codes to launch the Tridents without US permission

I suspect the Yanks have a way of ensuring they are NOT launched without their permission

Delivery time is only important if you are looking at a First Strike "beheading" scenario as we did in the Cold War - if we want to bomb Tehran for example they can fire a missile or two at us but they can't take out all our strike forces - the Tornadoes can turn up a couple of hours later and it makes no difference TBH

so you get an intel report of an imminent Iranian launch in the next 30...


what use are Tornado's then?

what use is Trident then? 

Unless they have several hundred missiles they can't "behead" the UK armed forces

A cruise missile or a Tornado  will get to Tehran - but as Sir Humphrey said "Prime Minister, we HAVE to have Polaris!!  There are other weapons systems but if you are buying deterrents  Polaris is the one that Marks and Spencers would sell!"

Trident is both a strategic and tactical weapon now...

TACTICAL???

What are they going to do - put HE warheads on it?

Even without any warhead its 6 ft across and weighs 60+ tons....................    get one of those through yer front door and you'd think it was Strategic

read the top post again man  :roll:

"pinpoint" and "low yield"

WOW!!!


almost not do any harm to anyone then...................................

compared to the other end of the scale...

which is one of the advantages of BIG H Bombs - you don't have to accurate at all

well there's accurate and there's postcodes

I would prefer to know where the centre will be tbh

With 55MT you'd get everything within 100 kms

I thought the bombs were out of service completely?  And even if they were still around, they are certainly not tactical weapons.

I don't think they are on issue but I hadn't heard that they'd been totally dismantled either

Ask Brock to run around to that place near Reading where they make the bloody things to check..............