British nuclear missile flops and fails to launch. Total embarrassment for the Royal Navy
A Trident missile misfired and crashed into the ocean off the coast of Florida during a very rare test launch by a British nuclear submarine. An embarrassing blow for the Royal Navy which manages British nuclear deterrence which is now questioned.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday evening that an “anomaly” had occurred during the exercise involving HMS Vanguard, but a spokesperson insisted that the nuclear deterrent, a cornerstone of the UK's defences, “ remains safe, secure and effective.” Happy with their doubts, but we're starting to have some doubts.
Here is the video of the last successful launch of a British Trident II, which took place 11 years ago
The flaw was due to the fact that it was a test launch: a source declared that the launch would have been successful if it had actually been carried out with a nuclear warhead, which remains to be proven and seems like a communication made to reassure the public.
The Sun newspaper first revealed the drama, which occurred on January 30, saying Defense Secretary Grant Shapps was on board the submerged submarine at the time. The missile was correctly propelled by the primary charge, the compressed gas that must expel the missile from the water, but then the missile fell a few meters from the ship, because the main engine did not ignite.
The submarine was underwater so the failure to ignite did not cause any damage to the ship, despite the strategic carrier weighing 59 tons with the warhead, but probably less in this unarmed configuration.
Successful and unsuccessful launches, from The Sun
This is the second consecutive failure of the Trident missile for the Royal Navy's aging nuclear weapons fleet, after a problem with another test firing in 2016. At the time a missile launched from HMS Vengeance had a similar accident in 2016, so The UK has failed to successfully launch a strategic missile for over eight years.
The Trident II is a nuclear strategic missile, weighing 59 tons and almost 15 meters long, capable of carrying numerous reentry vehicles and traveling for 12 thousand km at a speed of up to 24 times the speed of sound. Its design dates back to the 1980s and has been deployed on British and American submarines since 1990. The missile has been upgraded several times, but is now old.
Trident II in section
The UK has four nuclear-armed submarines which are tasked with ensuring a vessel is constantly at sea to deter nuclear threats from enemies such as Russia and to be ready to respond should the worst happen and the United Kingdom or its allies were to suffer a nuclear attack. An additional 4 dreadnought-class submarines are planned.
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The article The British nuclear missile flops and doesn't go off. Total embarrassment for the Royal Navy comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-missile-nucleare-britannico-fa-flop-e-non-parte-imbarazzo-totale-per-la-royal-navy/ on Wed, 21 Feb 2024 07:00:44 +0000.