22 Feb -- According to the British "Sun" newspaper, a British Royal Navy nuclear submarine failed to test-fire the "Trident II" missile at the end of January, which was also the second time in eight years that this type of missile failed during the test launch.
Screenshot of the British "Sun" report.
According to the "Sun", the British Royal Navy's "Vanguard" nuclear submarine conducted a "Trident II" missile launch exercise in the waters off Florida on January 30, but the first stage thruster of the missile launched did not ignite as planned, causing the 58-ton missile (equipped with a fake warhead) to fall into the sea.
"The missile left the submarine, but then landed next to it with a thud," a source said. ”
At that time, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps personally boarded the "Vanguard" and conducted the test launch.
The British Ministry of Defense also confirmed that there was an "unusual situation" when the nuclear submarine was exercising in the waters near Florida.
In a statement sent to The Sun, the ministry said: "HMS Vanguard and its crew have proven to be fully capable of operating the UK's maritime deterrent. This test once again confirms the effectiveness of the UK's nuclear deterrent, and we have absolute confidence in it. There was an anomaly during the test**. For *** reasons, we are unable to provide further information on this issue, but we believe that the anomaly is event-specific and therefore has no impact on the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpiles. ”
Since the "Trident II" missile entered service with the British Royal Navy in 1994, the United Kingdom has issued **12 such missiles. But in the end, both launches failed. In June 2016, a Trident II missile was launched from the British Royal Navy's nuclear submarine HMS Revenge, and its thrusters were successfully ignited, but the missile deviated from its flight path shortly after, eventually initiating the self-destruct process. The missiles are said to cost up to £17 million each.
Reuters said the two consecutive defeats "are an embarrassing result for a country that once had the most powerful navy in the world." ”
And just earlier this month, the British aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" also suffered an embarrassing scene because of the "lying down". The carrier was scheduled to depart on Feb. 4 for NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 exercise, but a last-minute inspection before departure revealed a problem with the propeller and ultimately failed to make the trip.
*: China News Network).