Tongdao Think Tank 2024-02-23 09:59 Beijing.
According to Defense Express Network on February 21**, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that a British Trident IID5 nuclear missile failed to launch normally from a Royal Navy submarine, and then crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and encountered an "anomaly".
The embarrassing incident marked the second consecutive test failure of the Royal Navy Trident in eight years. The Sun linked the cause of the fire to the fact that the first stage of the rocket booster was not ignited. The long interval between test launches of HMS HMS Vanguard was the result of a program of more than seven years of refits.
As for the exact cause of the fire, the British Ministry of Defense claims that the reports about the failure of the Trident rocket boost are "not" correct, which clearly refutes the report of The Sun.
The test failure has raised "concerns" about the Royal Navy and the UK's Defence Nuclear Organisation, particularly the latter's "close cooperation with the United States".
The Trident IID5 missile, which has a range of 4,000 nautical miles, is deployed on the U.S. Navy's Ohio-class submarines and is manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
The Sun reported that the Trident test was scheduled to travel 6,000 kilometers before landing in the sea between Brazil and West Africa, but "crashed" after the test ended. When the Trident test failed, Shapps and Ben Key, First Sea Secretary of the Royal Navy, were both on HMS HMS Pioneer.
Shapps sought to downplay the impact of the test failure on the credibility of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The test failure occurred when HMS Vanguard was at sea ending a deep maintenance cycle.
He further said there was no doubt about Britain's "ability to launch nuclear **" in wartime, and boldly claimed that the Trident "remains the most reliable ** system in the world", thanks to 190 successful tests, including unarmed tests by the United States.
Britain doesn't usually comment on nuclear submarine activity, but Shapps said the "level of interest" this time called for "as much information as possible" to be made public.
The most recent failure comes on the heels of a refit of HMS HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy, which took more than seven years, three years longer than expected, and cost estimates soared to £500 million (6.).$3.1 billion).
At the end of the submarine maintenance period, it will be planned in accordance with the Standard Demonstration and Sea Trial Operations (DASO), covering the ** system, subsystem testing and crew performance so that the submarine can be returned to service after the refit phase.
The purpose of the DASO is to validate the submarine and its crew, including through a two-month exercise of the submarine system and its crew, culminating in the launch of the missile ......So there will be no [new test launches] because the operation has been successfully completed," a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said.
The UK has four Avantgard-class ballistic missile submarines to maintain the UK's continued maritime deterrence. The fleet is expected to be replaced in the early 2030s by new dreadnought submarines, which will be able to carry 12 Trident missiles and 4 Spearfish heavy medium-range torpedoes.
The British Trident replacement warhead program is being carried out simultaneously with the American W93 Mk7 warhead project, led by the US Strategic Command (Stratcom) and the US Navy.
In September 2023, the U.S. Navy said it successfully tested an unarmed Life Extension Trident II (D5LE) missile from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana at the Western Test Site off the coast of San Diego, California.
February** Dynamic Incentive Program